Comparison of Humor Style Preferences Between Successfully Recovering Individuals and Newcomers Participating in 12-Step Recovery Programs

Abstract

Background: Humor has long been associated with potential benefits on physical and psychological health and well-being [1]. Identified and developed a tool to measure various functions, forms or styles of humor with either beneficial, adaptive expression or in detrimental, maladaptive operations. The purpose of this study was to explore these humor styles in a population of recovering individuals with substance use disorder attending 12-step recovery programs. Humor style preferences were compared between newer members (less than one year abstinence) versus established, successful members (more than five years abstinence). Methods: Demographics, including age and gender, number of months of complete abstinence and level of 12-step participation including having a sponsor or not, and weekly meeting attendance. The Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ) was self-administered, measuring affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive and self-defeating humor style scores. Hypothesis 1: That adaptive humor expression (affiliative, self-enhancing styles) would be higher in the successfully recovering group. Hypothesis 2: That maladaptive humor expression (aggressive, self-defeating styles) would be higher in the newcomer group. Results: Self-defeating humor style was significantly higher in the newcomer group (p<.05). There was no difference between groups of successfully recovering individuals and newcomers with affiliative, self-enhancing and aggressive styles of humor. Conclusion: Self-defeating humor, considered a maladaptive, negative style is a preferred style of humor early in the recovery. Contributing factors of the self-defeating preference in this group is more recent substance use and the negative consequences of behaviors related to its use. Successful, long term recovery with 12-step program involvement leads to a significant reduction in preference of self-defeating humor. The difference in humor styles may be reflective of improvement in self-esteem in those with long term abstinence.