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Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Mutual Help Group Participation for Substance Use Problems

Introduction

Racial/ethnic minority groups comprise a large proportion of the U.S. population and evidence a substantial need for treatment of substance use disorder (SUD). Analysis of the most recent, reliable data available—the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)1—found that the prevalence of past-year SUD among those age 12 and older was higher among some racial/ethnic minority...

The Emergence, Role, and Impact of Recovery Support Services

Across the different developmental stages of the life course, alcohol and other drugs play an influential role in health, functioning, disease, disability, and premature mortality. A number of different approaches have emerged during the past 60 years to address areas impacted by alcohol and drug use, including formal professional treatment services, but also—in recognition of the need for ongoing...

Integrating Treatment for Co-Occurring Mental Health Conditions

Given the high co-occurrence between alcohol use disorder (AUD) and mental health conditions (MHCs), and the increased morbidity associated with the presence of co-occurring disorders, it is important that co-occurring disorders be identified and both disorders addressed in integrated treatment. Tremendous heterogeneity exists among individuals with co-occurring conditions, and factors related to...

Functional and Psychiatric Correlates of Comorbid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are common comorbid conditions that affect large segments of the population. Individuals with comorbid PTSD/AUD face greater clinical and functional stressors than those with diagnoses of either PTSD or AUD alone. The purpose of this article is to review the phenomenology and functional associations of PTSD/AUD and address the...

Recovery and Youth: An Integrative Review

Although rates of alcohol and other substance use disorders in adolescents have been estimated for decades, little is known about the prevalence, pathways, and predictors of remission and long-term recovery among adolescents. This article provides an integrative review of the literature on youth recovery. A final selection of 39 relevant articles was grouped into five sections: treatment outcomes...

Epidemiology of Recovery From Alcohol Use Disorder

Almost one-third of the U.S. population meets alcohol use disorder (AUD) criteria on a lifetime basis. This review provides an overview of recent research on the prevalence and patterns of alcohol-related improvement and selectively reviews nationally representative surveys and studies that followed risk groups longitudinally with a goal of informing patients with AUD and AUD researchers...

What Is Recovery?

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders and is associated with enormous public health costs. Although AUD and other addictive behaviors have been described as chronic relapsing conditions, most individuals who develop AUD will eventually recover. This narrative review provides an overview of definitions of recovery, with a focus on recovery from AUD. The...

Sex and Gender Effects in Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder

The current article provides a brief summary of biopsychosocial gender differences in alcohol use disorder (AUD), then reviews existing literature on gender differences in treatment access, retention, outcomes, and longer-term recovery. Among psychotherapies for AUD, there is support for the efficacy of providing female-specific treatment, and for female-only treatment settings but only when...

Anxiety and Alcohol Use Disorders: Comorbidity and Treatment Considerations

Co-occurring anxiety disorders and alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are of great interest to researchers and clinicians. Cumulative evidence from epidemiological and clinical studies over the past few decades has highlighted both the frequency and clinical impact of this comorbidity. Investigations into the unique connections between specific anxiety disorders and AUDs have shown that this association...

Recovery From AUD - From the Editors

In recent decades, the term “recovery” as it pertains to alcohol use disorder (AUD) and drug use disorders has taken on increasing cultural and scientific significance in the United States and around the world. Its growing prominence as a culturally recognized and, importantly, positively valenced organizing concept has occurred in large part in direct response to help counter the pervasive and...