No significant differences were found in relation to residents’ number of days in outpatient and residential psychiatric treatment, abstinence rates, and what is an oxford house residence status. These findings suggest that a high level of psychiatric severity is not an impediment to residing in self-run, self-help settings such as Oxford House among persons with psychiatric co-morbid substance use disorders. Within our sample, 58.4% were Caucasian, 34.0% were African American, 3.5% were Hispanic, and 4% were other. Flynn, Alvarez, Jason, Olson, Ferrari, and Davis (2006) found that African Americans in Oxford House maintain ties with family members yet develop supportive relationships by attending 12-step groups and living in Oxford House. These different social networks are able to provide support for abstinence to African Americans.
Self-run, Self-supporting Addiction Recovery Homes
Using cross sectional data, Ferrari, Jason, Davis, Olson, and Alvarez (2004) compared the operational policies of 55 Oxford Houses to those of 14 Therapeutic Communities (TCs). Neither type of facility permitted self-injurious behaviors (e.g., physical self-harm or misuse of medication) or destructive acts (e.g., destroying site property or others’ possessions). Oxford Houses, however, were significantly more liberal in permitting residents personal liberties compared to the TC facilities. For example, Oxford Houses permitted greater flexibility in terms of residents’ smoking in their rooms, sleeping late in the morning or staying out late at night, going away for a weekend, and having “private time” in their locked room with guests. Oxford Houses also were more likely than TCs to allow residents to have personal possessions (e.g., pictures, furniture) within the dwelling (Ferrari, Jason, Sasser et al., 2006).
Oxford House Recovery Homes
They found that children provided the only type of relationship that was able to affect both substance use and recovery in a positive direction. D’Arlach, Olson, Jason, and Ferrari (2006) found that the children residents had a positive effect on the women’s recovery, and this positive effect was identical for both mothers and non-mothers. It is possible that these positive effects are due to the fact that having children present leads to increased responsibility among all House residents, aiding in recovery. We also believe that Oxford Houses and other community-based support system provide social scientists with rich opportunities to explore a vast array of psychological and sociological constructs.
Who Starts and Manages Oxford Houses?
Limited research is also available comparing Oxford Houses versus more traditional recovery homes, which also tend to have supervising staff and less democratic self-governing principles. Harvey (2009) recently found that Oxford House residents had higher scores on social climate scales Involvement, Support, and Practical Orientation, Spontaneity, Autonomy, Order and Organization, and Program Clarity measures compared to a traditional recovery home. This study did not provide outcome data regarding residents’ experiences living in these recovery communities. In one of the few recovery home longitudinal studies, Polcin (2006) found that 51% of recovery home residents were abstinent from drugs and alcohol at a six-month follow-up. Regrettably, there are few studies reporting differential outcome data contrasting recovery home and therapeutic community residential treatments for substance abuse. In part, this is due to the fact that it is hard to provide systemic long-term outcome data on these hard to reach, highly recidivist populations.
Level Testing Timetable
- Following the Oxford House model, the group of non-founding members will continue to pursue long term recovery together as a group, just like the group who started the house.
- One of the largest examples of a community-based, mutual-help residential community for high risk substance abuse individuals is Oxford House.
- The Oxford House model suggests that there are alternative social approaches that can transcend the polarities that threaten our nation (Jason, 1997).
- Clearly, psychologists with interests in community based support networks for substance abusers have ample research topics worthy of exploration, and this research may have public policy implications.
- Jason, Groh, Durocher, Alvarez, Aase, and Ferrari (2008) examined how the number of residents in Oxford House recovery homes impacted residents’ outcomes.
As discussed in the previous section, Who is Responsible, an integral element of https://ecosoberhouse.com/’s efficacy as a treatment for alcoholism is the «group responsibility» that the Oxford House model requires. Oxford Houses meet the Charter requirement that the House must be self-run on a democratic basis by making important decisions as a group and by appointing members to execute those decisions. For this reason, the property must be run, on a democratic basis, for the benefit of the House as a group rather than for any individual member. The property must therefore be leased to the House to accurately reflect that the House is leasing the property for the benefit of the House as a group and that the House will be responsible as a group.
- Oxford Houses are established in good neighborhoods to integrate the recovering individuals into mainstream communities, away from former environments, people and habits.
- As discussed in the previous section, Who is Responsible, an integral element of Oxford House’s efficacy as a treatment for alcoholism is the «group responsibility» that the Oxford House model requires.
- Among individuals with high 12-step involvement, the addition of Oxford House residence significantly increased the rates of abstinence (87.5% vs. 52.9%).
- In a National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) supported study, we successfully recruited 150 individuals who completed treatment at alcohol and drug abuse facilities in the Chicago metropolitan area.
We worked with the needs of diverse groups, including ex-offenders, minority groups including Native Americans, and women and women with children. Our efforts involved a commitment to collaborative research with a grass-roots organization, assessing change at multiple levels with a multidisciplinary team of economists, biostatisticians, social, developmental, clinical and community psychologists. Within this large study, we analyzed psychiatric severity data such that we compared residents with high versus low baseline psychiatric severity (Majer, Jason, North, Davis, Olson, Ferrari et al., 2008).
Almost all medical problems are first identified by primary care and referred to specialists, but this is not the case with substance abuse disorders, where most individuals first approach specialist substance abuse treatment settings. The Office of National Drug Control Policy is currently considering recommending that primary care settings should identify people with substance abusers in primary care settings in order to refer more patients to detoxification and treatment. If this occurs, there will emerge unique opportunities for psychologists in both screening and referral. In a National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) supported study, we successfully recruited 150 individuals who completed treatment at alcohol and drug abuse facilities in the Chicago metropolitan area. Half the participants were randomly assigned to live in an Oxford House, while the other half received community-based aftercare services (Usual Care).
Oxford House Recovery Homes: Characteristics and Effectiveness
Who is Responsible
- Neither type of facility permitted self-injurious behaviors (e.g., physical self-harm or misuse of medication) or destructive acts (e.g., destroying site property or others’ possessions).
- These results suggest that well-managed and governed recovery homes pose minimal risks to neighbors in terms of criminal behavior.
- In the past 90 days, the sample had an average of 1 day of residential treatment for psychiatric problems and an average of 3 sessions with a counselor for psychiatric problems.
- Of the residents, 18% were veterans, and 91% were working with average monthly earnings of $1,480.
- Given the expanding federal deficit and obligations to fund social security, it is even more important for psychologists to consider inexpensive ways to remediate inequities within our society.