“Knowing where we’ve been, and what we’ve overcome is key”: the role of campus environment on development of recovery identity in members of a collegiate recovery program

Abstract

The purpose of the phenomenoloical study was to understand the lived experiences of student participants in a collegiate recovery program, with a focus on recovery identity development. At the core of this study were two identities—recovery identity, “who am I, as a person in recovery?”, and social identity, “who am I as a member of my campus community, as a person in recovery?”. Research is lacking on how campus environment may impact recovery identity development of collegiate recovery program members. The researcher conducted a phenomenological study including in-depth personal interviews with students involved in a collegiate recovery program. At the site institution 12 students were members of the on-campus collegiate recovery program and 6 individual interviews were conducted. Interviews were digitally recorded and then after being sent to a transcription service, the researcher listened to each session multiple times to discern categories and themes. The findings demonstrated that participation in the campus environment was influenced by the degree to which safety, inclusion, and sense of belonging was established. The connection to people and place contributed to participants feeling more supported, hopeful for the future, and empowered to succeed in recovery.