Is there a relationship between the severity of alcohol use during active addiction and initial levels of spirituality in recovery? A psychological examination

Spirituality has proven to be a curative factor in the recovery process of substance abusers accounting for over 40% of the variance of the quality of recovery in various studies. While more is understood about the impact spirituality has on recovery from addictions, less is known about how alcoholism affects spiritual practices, attitudes, behaviors, and development. The following study investigated how components of a person's active use effected spirituality levels in early recovery by measuring the impact of various consequences of use on the recovering alcoholic. A sample of 67 men and women in the first 90 days of sobriety were administered the following questionnaires: Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ), Spiritual Well-being Scale (SWBS), and the Consequences of Use Test (CUT). Individuals who reported greater negative impact as a result of the consequences of their use also reported experiencing higher levels of religious well-being (e.g., more positive relationship with God) than those individuals who reported the consequences of their use having less negative impact on their lives. The total number of reported consequences did not appear to have any association with spirituality levels in early recovery.;Keywords. Addiction, spirituality, recovery, substance abuse, substance dependence.