Table 1 Comparison of individuals self-labelling as ‘being in recovery’ versus “used to be” versus “never” in recovery

Demographics

Gender

0.00

0.01

Male

62.5

2.07

74.9

3.06

64.7

2.86

Female

37.5

2.07

25.1

3.06

35.3

2.86

Age

< 0.001

0.02

18–24 (emerging adulthood)

7.5

1.36

10.3

2.45

13.0

2.43

25–49 (young adults)

59.1

2.13

65.5

3.44

65.4

2.94

50–64 (mid-life stage adults)

21.9

1.64

17.9

2.52

14.8

1.81

65+ (older adults)

11.6

1.21

6.3

1.54

6.9

1.41

Ethnicity

0.05

0.01

White

89.4

1.44

89.4

2.45

93.6

1.40

Ethnic Minority

10.6

1.44

10.6

2.45

6.4

1.40

Substance use

Time since problem resolution (in years)

0.59

0.00

0–5 years

53.1

2.27

50.0

3.90

55.0

3.49

> 5–15 years

31.8

2.11

35.7

3.77

32.9

3.46

> 15 years

15.1

1.45

14.3

2.34

12.1

1.85

Number of substances ever identified as a problem

0.03

0.01

1 substance

64.8

2.14

58.1

3.86

67.1

3.10

2 substances

18.0

1.68

23.3

3.53

20.9

2.72

3 + substances

17.2

1.72

18.6

2.99

12.0

2.19

Age of onset of first substance

0.56

0.00

< 15 years of age

54.1

2.21

57.7

3.69

53.6

3.13

≥ 15 years of age

45.9

2.21

42.4

3.69

46.4

3.13

Age of onset of problem substance

0.99

0.00

< 15 years of age

41.1

2.22

41.5

3.74

40.9

3.15

≥ 15 years of age

58.9

2.22

58.5

3.74

59.1

3.15

Primary substance

< 0.001

0.03

Alcohol

62.1

2.19

53.0

3.78

54.0

3.16

Cannabis

16.1

1.71

26.1

3.43

23.9

2.77

Cocaine

5.3

0.98

3.1

1.26

8.7

1.86

Opiates (heroin, other opiates)

7.3

1.14

5.8

1.72

5.0

1.3

Amphetamine

3.2

0.79

7.4

2.05

4.2

1.15

Other (benzodiazepines, hallucinogens, new psychoactive substances)

6.0

1.14

4.7

1.65

4.3

1.42

Current substance use

< 0.001

0.05

Abstinent from all drugs/alcohol

47.0

1.90

25.9

2.80

27.2

2.30

< 0.001

0.05

Abstinent from primary problematic substance

54.5

1.90

32.7

3.00

36.5

2.50

< 0.001

0.04

Mental health (lifetime mental health disorder diagnoses)

Alcohol or other drug use disorder

31.8

2.06

19.3

2.90

9.5

1.80

< 0.001

0.07

Mood disorder

25.1

2.01

28.1

3.41

16.8

2.22

< 0.001

0.01

Anxiety disorder

39.6

2.19

39.8

3.69

27.5

2.79

< 0.001

0.02

PTSD

14.9

1.58

10.7

2.05

7.2

1.82

< 0.001

0.01

Other mental health disorder

11.9

1.34

10.8

2.22

11.9

1.78

0.89

0.00

Never been diagnosed

21.6

1.84

24.5

3.31

35.6

3.02

< 0.001

0.02

Record of arrest

< 0.001

0.02

Never been arrested

56.6

2.23

59.1

3.7

62.0

3.10

Yes – not in the last year

37.7

2.18

39.4

3.67

37.0

2.18

Yes – in the last year

5.7

1.08

1.4

0.91

1.0

0.59

Use of recovery support

Used formal treatment

36.8

2.11

33.7

3.68

15.3

2.36

< 0.001

0.05

Used recovery support services

30.7

2.06

23.2

3.32

6.23

1.53

< 0.001

0.08

Used mutual-help groups

33.0

2.04

28.5

3.49

12.4

2.26

< 0.001

0.05

Quality of life (M, SD)

Recovery Capital

4.45

0.83

4.29

0.93

4.23

0.85

< 0.001

0.12

Quality of life (8 items)

25.3

6.93

24.6

7.00

25.9

7.34

0.09

0.00

Happiness (1 item, 1–5 scale)

3.12

1.01

3.0

1.13

3.08

1.15

0.53

0.00

Self-esteem (1 item, 1–5 scale)

2.60

1.25

2.6

1.20

2.60

1.22

0.61

0.00

Psychological distress (Kessler 6)

9.50

6.0

9.9

6.20

9.20

6.16

0.39

0.00