Pandemics Interlaced: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Wellbeing of Sober Living Home Residents

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to discover how the COVID-19 pandemic altered the implementation of the social model of recovery in sober living homes (SLHs). Researchers analyzed associations between residents’ feelings of interconnectedness, social service utilization, and relapse predictors throughout the pandemic. This study provides an understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted treatment of substance use disorder (SUD). Methods This study used retrospective surveyed data from 105 SLH residents. Correlational analysis was used to determine the relationship between social service use, social connectivity, and relapse predictors at three different time points: February 2020, December 2020, and June 2021. Three residents underwent additional interviews. Results There was a decline in social service utilization from February 2020 to December 2020 with an associated decline in feelings of social connectivity. From December 2020 to June 2021, there was an increase in residents’ use of social services with an associated increase in connectivity. There was a significant negative correlation between relapse predictors and number of supportive services used in February 2020 (r = −0.217, P < 0.05) and in December 2020 (r = −0.352, P < 0.001). In June 2020, there was a significant negative correlation between interconnectedness and relapse predictors (r = −0.297, P < 0.05). The number of interviews was not sufficient for formal qualitative analysis. Conclusions The results suggest the COVID-19 pandemic possibly interrupted the course of recovery in SLHs. These findings offer insight to how the pandemic impacted individuals recovering from SUD and suggest that SUD treatment professionals should develop interventions to enhance social connectivity to deploy in response to global stressors.