Date of Award
Fall 11-25-2019
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctorate of Education, Ed.D.
College
College of Education
Department
Education
First Advisor
Trish Lichau, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Yvonne Hefner, Ed.D.
Third Advisor
Chad Lakies, Ph.D.
Abstract
Individuals who are in recovery from addiction can find spiritual development to be helpful in their pursuit of sobriety. Some individuals have developed spirituality through a transition from negative religious coping (NRC) to positive religious coping (PRC). Prior to this study, no other researchers had focused on the factors that contribute to this transition from NRC to PRC. A qualitative methodology and explanatory case study research design was used to identify the factors that contributed to a transition from NRC to PRC during addiction recovery. Participants included five individuals who were in recovery from addiction and had experienced a transition from NRC to PRC, and four treatment providers who integrated spirituality into their comprehensive treatment plans. Each participant selected for this study expressed that they had experienced a transition from NRC to PRC during their recovery from addiction. Furthermore, each participant shared experiences that described each one of Mezirow’s 10 phases of transformation. Analysis of the data was used to show that Mezirow’s 10 phases of transformation were general factors of transition from NRC to PRC, and the new roles, relationships, and actions of phase 5 were specific factors of transition. Future researchers could use these results to develop a new treatment modality that utilizes the theory of transformation to develop spirituality in a way that benefits the addiction recovery process.