Arizona 12 Step Recovery

ARTICLE IN PRESS
Regular article
Assessment of spirituality and its relevance to addiction treatment
Marc Galanter, (M.D.)4, Helen Dermatis, (Ph.D.), Gregory Bunt, (M.D.),
Caroline Williams, (M.D.), Manuel Trujillo, (M.D.), Paul Steinke, (M.A, M.D.)
Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
Received 13 April 2006; received in revised form 15 June 2006; accepted 16 June 2006
Abstract
The prominence of Twelve-Step programs has led to increased attention on the putative role of spirituality in recovery from addictive
disorders. We developed a 6-item Spirituality Self-Rating Scale designed to reflect a global measure of spiritual orientation to life, and we
demonstrated here its internal consistency reliability in substance abusers on treatment and in nonsubstance abusers. This scale and the
measures related to recovery from addiction and treatment response were applied in three diverse treatment settings: a general hospital
inpatient psychiatry service, a residential therapeutic community, and methadone maintenance programs. Findings on these patient groups
were compared to responses given by undergraduate college students, medical students, addiction faculty, and chaplaincy trainees. These
suggest that, for certain patients, spiritual orientation is an important aspect of their recovery. Furthermore, the relevance of this issue may be
underestimated in the way treatment is framed in a range of clinical facilities. D 2006 Published by Elsevier Inc.
Keywords: Substance abuse treatment; Spirituality; Alcoholics Anonymous; Psychometric scale
1. Introduction
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been described as ba
spiritual program for living,Q as bthere is no dogma, theology,
or creed to be learnedQ (Miller & Kurtz, 1994). Dictionaries
define spirituality with phrases such as bconcerned with or
affecting the soulQ or bpertaining to GodQ (Berube, 2001).
These connotations suggest that an approach to spirituality
can be framed relative to addiction recovery, as understood by
members of Twelve-Step programs.
To operationalize this construct for use in addiction
treatment settings, we developed a scale designed to assess
the degree to which a subject’s views reflect this orientation.
We have applied it to patients in a diverse group of treatment
programs and to medical caregivers and chaplaincy trainees.
These results were then examined in relation to subjects’
views on substance abuse treatment and recovery.We present
here the psychometric properties of this Spirituality Self-
Rating Scale (SSRS), along with responses from these subject
groups on their views on substance abuse treatment and
recovery and their attitudes toward spirituality in relation to
recovery from addiction. Our findings suggest that further
attention needs to be paid to the importance of spirituality and
its value to patients relative to their recovery in diverse
settings where addicted people are treated.
There have been a number of studies on substance
abusers’ spiritual orientation whose findings reflect a positive
relationship to recovery. Two were on methadone-maintained
patients: Avants,Warburton, and Margolin (2001) found that
a higher self-report rating on bspirituality or religious
supportQ was an independent positive predictor of abstinence
from illicit heroin and cocaine. Flynn, Joe, Broome, Simpson,
and Brown (2003) found that patients who indicated religion
or spirituality as a source of recovery support were almost
twice as likely as those who did not to be free from heroin and
cocaine at 5 years. Piedmont (2004) evaluated a group of
abstinent drug abusers who had entered a spiritually oriented
0740-5472/06/$ – see front matter D 2006 Published by Elsevier Inc.
doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2006.06.014
Support for this project was provided by the Scaife Family Foundation.
4 Corresponding author. Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse,
New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York,
NY 10016, USA. Tel.: +1 212 263 6960; fax: +1 212 263 8285.
E-mail address: marcgalanter@nyu.edu (M. Galanter).
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment xxx (2006) xxx– xxx


Crossroads, Inc. is a non-profit, drug and alcohol recovery, organization located in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona. Crossroads is a Level Four transitional facility licensed by the State of Arizona. The Crossroads program addresses the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of alcoholism or drug addiction, by providing food, shelter, 12 step structure and discipline. We can help you find direction to sober living. Pick up the phone and call us: 602-279-2585. Visit our website at: http://sober360.com