Time-in-Recovery and Gender Impact Sense-of-Direction in People Recovering from Drugs and Alcohol

Background: Substance use disorder affects millions of individuals worldwide; negatively impacting health with significant collateral consequences. Despite advances in treatment, relapse rates remain high, highlighting the need for continued research into effective interventions. Tools to improve spatial reasoning may offer new tools to assist and improve goal attainment behavior (GAB). However, little is currently known about the relationship between spatial reasoning and substance use disorder, and whether interventions targeting spatial reasoning could be effective. This study aims to explore this relationship and lay the groundwork for future research into the spatial reasoning theory.

Methods: The study, approved by the Saint Louis University IRB, was conducted in the spring of 2023 with a total of 1,022 individuals. Participants were recruited from across the United States and participated in the study anonymously. The survey included demographic information, the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction (SBSOD) scale, and questions related to time-in-recovery. The Santa Barbara Sense of Direction (SBSOD) scale is a self-report measure that assesses an individual's sense of direction and spatial orientation. The scale consists of 15 items, with responses on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 7 (strongly disagree). The scale has been previously validated and has demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The SBSOD scale was the outcome of interest, with participants' average score being calculated as the focal dependent variable. The primary independent variables of interest were gender and time in recovery. Gender was assessed as a binary variable (male or female). Time in recovery was assessed as the number of years since the individual's last substance use, with response options ranging from 0-8 years. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables of interest, including means, standard deviations, and frequencies. We conducted an ANOVA to examine the relationship between gender and average SBSOD score.

Results: 683 identified as female and 341 identified as male. The mean score on the SBSOD scale was 4.27 (SD = 1.24). The two-sample t-test with equal variances showed a statistically significant difference in average score between males and females (t(1022) = -10.427, p < 0.001, d=0.71) with males having a significantly higher average score (M = 4.81, SD = 1.04) compared to females (M = 4.00, SD = 1.24). Additionally, ANOVA was applied to investigate the relationship between time in recovery and average score. The results showed a statistically significant effect of time in recovery on average score (F(4, 986) = 5.23, p < 0.001). Post-hoc comparisons revealed that individuals with two years (M = 4.77, SD = 1.18) and three years (M = 4.76, SD = 1.14) of recovery had significantly higher average scores compared to those with no years (M = 3.99, SD = 1.26).

Conclusions and Implications: Overall, findings suggest that gender and time-in-recovery are important factors to consider when examining individuals' sense of direction. These findings may support clinical implications for assessing and treating individuals. Spatial reasoning may provide groundwork for new intervention in treating individuals in an addiction treatment setting.