OBJECTIVE Peer recovery support services are delivered by individuals in recovery from substance use disorders to peers with substance use disorders or co-occurring mental disorders. This review describes the service and assesses its evidence base. METHODS Authors searched PubMed, PsycINFO, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, and Social Services Abstracts for outcome studies of peer recovery support services from 1995 through 2012. They found two randomized controlled trials, four quasi-experimental studies, four studies with pre-post service designs, and one review. Authors chose from three levels of evidence (high, moderate, and low) on the basis of benchmarks for the number of studies and quality of their methodology. They also described the evidence of service effectiveness. RESULTS The studies met the minimum criteria for moderate level of evidence. Studies demonstrated reduced relapse rates, increased treatment retention, improved relationships with treatment providers and social supports, and increased satisfaction with the overall treatment experience. Methodological concerns included inability to distinguish the effects of peer recovery support from other recovery support activities, small samples and heterogeneous populations, lack of consistent or definitive outcomes, and lack of any or appropriate comparison groups. CONCLUSIONS Peer recovery support providers aim to help individuals achieve and maintain recovery, yet studies to date have not tested the key mechanisms of this intervention. To better demonstrate the effectiveness of peer recovery support, researchers should isolate its effects from other peer-based services. Additional research should solidify its place within the substance use treatment continuum for adults with substance use disorders.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 103. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 31 July 2024.
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#503,477
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Outputs from Psychiatric Services
#131
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#3,680
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Outputs of similar age from Psychiatric Services
#5
of 68 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 32,919,153 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 98th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,484 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 15.7. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 97% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 265,985 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 98% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 68 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 92% of its contemporaries.
