Abstract
The article describes a new methodology designed with the aim of finding a comprehensive, unobtrusive, and accurate way of capturing social recovery capital development in online communities of recovery from alcohol and drug (AOD) addiction. Recovery capital was conceptualised as both engagement in the online recovery community and identification with the community. To measure recovery capital development, naturally occurring data were extracted from the social media page of a specific recovery program, with the page being set up as a resource for a face-to-face recovery program. To map engagement with the online community, social network analysis (SNA) capturing online social interaction was performed. Social interaction was measured through the linkages between the online contributors/members of the online community as represented by program clients, staff, and supporters from the broader community. To capture markers of social identification with the online community, computerised linguistic analysis of the textual data (content from posts and comments) was conducted. Recovery capital captured in this way was analysed against retention data (a proxy outcome indicator), as days spent in the (face-to-face) recovery program. The online data extracted was linked to participant data in regards to program retention to test prediction of a key recovery outcome. This approach allowed the examination of the role of online support communities and assessment of the association between recovery capital (developed via the online community of recovery) and recovery outcomes.
Highlights
The presented method has been designed to capture alcohol and other drugs (AOD) addiction recovery capital in online contexts
In the report described here, the study investigated whether online participation in a community of recovery contributes to the recovery process through recovery capital building
The study examined whether indicators of online recovery capital developed over the eight months of online data assessed and predicted retention in a recovery program designed for fostering community involvement for addicts in early stages of recovery
Summary
The presented method has been designed to capture alcohol and other drugs (AOD) addiction recovery capital in online contexts. By accessing data naturally occurring in contexts where people in various stages of recovery interact spontaneously, and by using analysis methods that can extract meaningful information from these data (able to capture indicators of psychological states), biases due to social desirability (self-presentational) and inaccuracies due to limitations in recall can be reduced or even eliminated. This method is highly efficient and cost-effective, as it relies on the extraction of already existing online data (i.e., in open online forums that are publicly accessible). Add a monthly breakdown (i.e., month 1 to 8)
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