Association of Loneliness and Mindfulness in Substance Use Treatment Retention

Johnathan M. Herczyk (), Keith J. Zullig, Stephen M. Davis, Jennifer Mallow, Gerald R. Hobbs, Danielle M. Davidov, Laura R. Lander and Laurie Theeke
Additional contact information
Johnathan M. Herczyk: Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Keith J. Zullig: Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Stephen M. Davis: Department of Health Policy, Management and Leadership, School of Public Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Jennifer Mallow: School of Nursing, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Gerald R. Hobbs: Department of Statistics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Danielle M. Davidov: Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Laura R. Lander: Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Laurie Theeke: School of Nursing, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 16, 1-12

Abstract: Background: Elevated mental illness prevalence complicates efforts designed to address the opioid crisis in Appalachia. The recovery community acknowledges that loneliness impacts mood and engagement in care factors; however, the predictive relationship between loneliness and retention in medication-assisted outpatient treatment programs has not been explored. Our objectives were to identify associations between mental health factors and retention in treatment and elucidate treatment retention odds. Data were collected from eighty participants ( n = 57 retained, n = 23 not retained) of a mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) intervention for individuals receiving medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in Appalachia. Loneliness, depression, and anxiety did not differ between the retained and not retained, nor did they predict not being retained; however, mindfulness was significantly lower among those not retained in treatment compared to those retained (OR = 0.956, 95% CI (0.912–1.00), and p < 0.05). Preliminary findings provide evidence for mindfulness training integration as part of effective treatment, with aims to further elucidate the effectiveness of mindfulness therapies on symptom reduction in co-occurring mental health disorders, loneliness, and MOUD treatment retention.

Keywords: loneliness; mindfulness; mental health; MOUD; retention; intervention strategies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/16/6571/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/16/6571/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:16:p:6571-:d:1216202

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().