Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

College of Education and Human Services

Department

Counseling, Rehabilitation Counseling & Counseling Psychology

Committee Chair

Monica Leppma

Committee Co-Chair

Jeffrey Daniels

Committee Member

Laura Lander

Committee Member

Lisa Platt

Committee Member

Christine Schimmel

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated relationships among mindfulness, self-efficacy, and substance use relapse. Contrasting research has found mindfulness and self-efficacy are not consistently negatively associated with substance use relapse demonstrating a need for further research. An additional factor that has been found to associated with substance use is self-compassion; however, it has yet to be examined in relation to the process of relapse. The current study assessed self-efficacy, self-compassion, and mindfulness and their associations with substance use relapse, with the aim of predicting relapse risk. Higher levels of relapse risk were found to be negatively associated with self-efficacy, trait mindfulness, and self-compassion. Additionally, through a hierarchical regression, self-efficacy was found to significantly predict relapse risk. After adding trait mindfulness into the regression model, significantly more variance was explained for relapse risk. However, when self-compassion was added into the model, it was found to be still predictive of relapse risk but did not add a significant amount of variance to the model. Findings suggest that individuals with higher levels of self-compassion, self-efficacy and trait mindfulness are less likely to relapse while in recovery from substance use. The current study’s findings indicate these three variables play a role in substance use relapse and have potential to be utilized in integrated relapse prevention treatments. Implications for substance use programs and integrated treatments are discussed, as well as strengths and limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.

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