Recruitment methods may influence prevalence estimates of people identifying as being in recovery from hazardous alcohol use.

BACKGROUND

Some former heavy drinkers identify themselves as being in recovery. Previous research has examined how common the recovery identity is by recruiting participants who identified as having a past drinking problem. However, there are many people who reduce their drinking without identifying (at least in retrospect) that they had a problem. What are the possible implications of this recruitment question on prevalence estimates of the recovery identity?

METHODS

A convenience sample of participants were recruited through the Prolific website. Participants were asked about their current and past drinking. Those who were former heavy drinkers were asked if their drinking had ever been a problem and if they currently, or ever, regarded themselves as being in recovery.

RESULTS

From a sample of 4450 participants, 240 people were identified as former heavy drinkers who now drink in a moderate fashion or were not drinking at all. Less than a third (29.2 %) of these former heavy drinkers endorsed that they used to have a problem but now no longer do. Only 13.8 % said that they had ever been in recovery (8.8 % currently identified as in recovery). Almost all participants who identified as being in recovery also agreed that they used to have a problem with their drinking.

CONCLUSIONS

Recruiting participants who identify as having had a problem, but now no longer do, will lead to an underestimation of the number of former heavy drinkers in the general population and an inflated estimate of the proportion of these former heavy drinkers who identify as being in recovery.