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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Substance Use Disorders and Behavioral Addictions
Volume 13 - 2025 |
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1519430
This article is part of the Research Topic Innovations in Recovery Science: Pathways, Policies, and Platforms that Promote Thriving After Addiction View all 5 articles
Examining the Dualistic Model of Passion in Addiction Recovery
Provisionally accepted- 1 School of Medicine, University of Connecticut, Farmington, United States
- 2 Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States
- 3 Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- 4 Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
Addiction recovery can be conceptualized as multidimensional changes to health and wellness including changes in substance use, physical and mental health, and social relationships. These outcomes are often measured through recovery capital which recognizes the various resources, both internal and external, that one may use to enhance their recovery. Internal and external resources can also be accumulated by engaging in an activity an individual is passionate about, explained by the dualistic model of passion (DMP) as enhancing mental and spiritual well-being, health, and personal growth, thereby fostering positive emotions, community involvement, deeper relationships, and heightened performance across various life domains. Evidence indicates that both RC and the DMP contribute to improved health outcomes including life satisfaction and well-being; however, the DMP has not yet been applied to addiction recovery science. The current study aimed to contribute to the growing body of research on addiction recovery by exploring the way passion may influence recovery outcomes. Further, the study investigated how the differences in passion type (e.g., harmonious (HP) and obsessive (OP)) impacted RC. Participants for the study (N = 346; Mage = 42.1; 53.2% Male) included individuals who self-reported being in recovery from alcohol and/or drugs and completed an online survey through Amazon's Mechanical Turk platform. A significant bivariate correlation was found between HP and RC (r = .42, p <.001), and mean comparisons showed significant differences for individuals endorsing HP as they scored higher on a measure of RC (M = 4.69) than did their peers endorsing OP (M = 4.26). Finally, a regression analysis found that HP predicted RC (B = .19, p <.001), even when time in recovery and mental health variables such as depression and anxiety were included in the model. This study offers novel evidence for an association between the DMP and recovery outcomes warranting future research.
Keywords: Addiction recovery, substance use, dualistic model of passion (DMP), passion, Recovery Capital Substance-Related Disorders, Mental Health, life satisfaction, Adult
Received: 29 Oct 2024; Accepted: 10 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lewis, Mills, Bergman, Kimball and Gerber. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Lauren E. Lewis, School of Medicine, University of Connecticut, Farmington, United States
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