Date

9-19-2024

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Chair

Rich Sironen

Keywords

Substance use disorder, addiction recovery, treatment, long-term recovery, dropout, success rate

Disciplines

Leadership Studies | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge (MNTC) is an addiction treatment center. The reason for this qualitative case study was to discover why clients of substance use disorder treatment programs believe that they can graduate from their program when 50% of those who start the same long-term program drop out. This case study focused on graduates from MNTC in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This study discovered the graduates' common attributes that may improve MNTC treatment center programs, which could decrease the number of people who walk away from addiction recovery programs prematurely and increase the number of those who graduate. According to MNTC records and the literature, 50% of clients in long-term recovery programs at MNTC drop out and must start over in the program before they graduate. This case study documented graduates' opinions on why they successfully completed the long-term program for the Minneapolis, Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge (MNTC). The definition of an MNTC graduate was graduating from the program and not having a relapse for one year. The theory guiding this study was Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior, which proposes that an individual's decision whether to engage in any specific behavior, such as drug or alcohol use, is predicated by their intention to engage in that behavior. Likewise, Ajzen’s theory can explain a person’s intention to stop substance use as a conscious behavior, which this study collected information to understand. The academic community—mainly those interested in addiction treatment and recovery programs—played a crucial role in this research, as their expertise and insights significantly contributed to understanding and improving addiction recovery programs.

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