Files
Abstract
Substance abuse has devastating social, economic, and public health consequences. For pregnant, post-partum, and parenting women who abuse substances, fetal and child development are also of concern. Sense of Coherence (SOC), a salutogenic measure related to health promotion, and daily spiritual experiences (DSE) are strongly linked with reduced risk for relapse, persistence in treatment, and survival among substance abusing populations. Despite this evidence, few studies have directly attempted to promote a strong SOC or spirituality, outside of Twelve-Step groups, in substance abuse treatment participants. This study addresses these gaps by assessing the impact of an expressive arts group therapy intervention on the SOC and DSE of pregnant, post-partum, and parenting substance abusing women (N = 24) in varying stages of recovery. A nonequivalent pretest/posttest group design was employed, and results indicated statistically significant gains in SOC but not DSE relative to an active control group. Based on these findings, future research using structured expressive arts interventions to increase SOC among addicted populations is recommended.