How Penn State Extension Supports Pennsylvanians in Recovery

You may have seen Penn State Extension’s new flyeroutlining programming which can support Pennsylvanians on the road to recovery. But how do programs as diverse as Let's Cook and Tree Tenders® contribute to recovery from substance use disorder? The answer lies in a concept called "recovery capital," or the resources a person has which can help them enter and maintain recovery. This article introduces the concept of "recovery capital" and demonstrates how Extension programs can help people with substance use disorders build it.

What is Capital?

When hearing the term "capital," most people likely think about money or economic power. Certainly, this is the definition of "capital" that is part of common finance terms, such as capital gains or capital investments. However, "capital" can include a far greater number of resources than monetary assets alone. The Oxford English Dictionary (n.d.) defines "capital" as "any source of profit, advantage, power, etc.: a store of some positive or advantageous quality." In other words, individuals can hold not only economic capital but other types of capital too. And just as economic capital allows individuals to purchase goods and services, other types of capital offer benefits as well.

Scholars in the social sciences, like economics, political science, and sociology, have identified several different types of capital. In addition to economic capital, these include cultural capital, human capital, social capital, and symbolic capital.

People can accumulate a store of these different types of capital, but they also can exhaust or lose these resources as well. For example, a person might accrue more social capital by making new social connections, like friendships or professional relationships. Each new connection brings new assets, as that person may be able to help you in different ways. However, perhaps you have a falling out with a friend, or perhaps you have called upon a given neighbor for a favor too many times: just as you may gain new social capital through a new connection, you may lose social capital from an existing or old connection.

People's outcomes and experiences are shaped by how much capital they possess and what types they possess. Take someone seeking a job. Their success in finding a job may be shaped by holding a specific type of academic degree (cultural capital), knowing how to act in a job interview (cultural capital), being able to purchase a professional suit to wear to the interview (economic capital), demonstrating the knowledge and skills they have relevant to the job (human capital), having a friend or neighbor who knows the employer vouch for them (social capital), and being known in their community as a hard worker (symbolic capital).

And just as capital can help the individual land a job, getting that job can then allow them to accrue even greater stores of capital. They may make more money (economic capital), develop new skills on the job (human capital), forge new connections with their coworkers (social capital), learn how to interact with supervisors and coworkers in a professional setting (cultural capital), and receive performance awards that would be recognized by future employers (symbolic capital).

What is Recovery Capital?

The main types of capital above can be combined and used for a specific purpose. For example, "political capital" consists of the "sum of combining other types of capital for purposive political action" (Casey 2008). A local political candidate might be able to leverage political capital like campaign donations (economic capital), their public speaking skills (human capital), connections to voters in their church community (social capital),and an esteemed local reputation (symbolic capital) to run a successful political campaign and attain public office.

Recovery capital works in a similar way. Recovery capital includes those types of capital above (cultural capital, economic capital, human capital, social capital, and symbolic capital) which can "be brought to bear on the initiation and maintenance of substance misuse cessation" (Cloud and Granfield 2004, 2008). That is, recovery capital includes those personal and social resources which can help a person with substance use disorder not only enter recovery but also maintain it. Recovery capital can remove social, structural, psychological, and biological stressors that might have, in the past, motivated substance use. Recovery capital can also help people avoid relapses and cope with new stressors when they arise.

Domains of Recovery Capital

(White and Cloud 2008; Cloud and Granfield 2008)

Cultural capital

• Self-efficacy, self-esteem, and self-awareness
• Sense of purpose in life
• Hopefulness and optimism
• Acceptance of the prosocial norms and values characteristic of mainstream U.S. society

Economic capital

• Personal finances
• Housing
• Access to transportation
• Health insurance
• Food and personal necessities

Human capital

• Educational and vocational skills
• Problem-solving ability
• Interpersonal and communication skills

Social capital

• Family support
• Peer support
• Access to sobriety-based fellowship/leisure
• Connections to local institutions like school, workplaces, churches, etc.

Symbolic capital

• Positive reputation within one's community
• Association with a positive or well-respected group or institution

Community capital

• Local treatment and recovery resources
• Community efforts and campaigns to reduce stigma
• Visible and diverse local recovery role models

Research on recovery capital also includes a unique domain: community capital (White and Cloud 2008). Three of the primary types of capital (cultural, economic, and human) include objects or qualities that an individual personally possesses, even if those things can't be touched or seen, like a person's knowledge or work ethic. Social capital includes assets that come from one’s personal relationships with others, and symbolic capital includes assets that come from broader society's norms and values. The inclusion of community capital recognizes that one's local community also plays an incredibly important role in the recovery process.

A local community can facilitate community members' personal recovery journeys by championing recovery and providing access to recovery resources, like supporting the establishment of a recovery community center. However, a local community can also impede personal recovery by stigmatizing recovery or preventing the development of local recovery resources, like turning away an organization hoping to open a recovery house. Consequently, it's not just important that people themselves possess recovery capital for their own recovery journey; communities must also possess recovery capital in order to make those journeys possible.

Why Does Recovery Capital Matter?

A large body of research shows that substance use treatment—especially longer-term residential treatment (Greenfield et al. 2004) and the use of medications for opioid use disorders (Stahler et al. 2022)—can help people with substance use disorders detox from substances and refrain from further use. Nonetheless, substance use disorders are "chronic medical illness[es]" (McLellan et al. 2000) characterized by a persistent chance of relapse. One recent study found that relapse occurred within 3 months for 37% of a sample of people who had recently completed in-patient treatment; those who were younger and those with a co-occurring mental disorder were at particularly high risk for relapse (Andersson, Wenaas, and Nordfjaern 2019). Those who recognize this persistent risk advocate for long-term care strategies that can help individuals with substance use disorders maintain long-term recovery (McLellan et al. 2000).

One such long-term care strategy involves helping people with current and past substance use disorders build recovery capital (White and Cloud 2008). Indeed, the possession of recovery capital—including both how much recovery capital an individual holds and what forms of recovery capital they hold—has been proven to lower the chances that people in recovery will relapse (Moos and Moos 2007; Laudet and White 2009; Gilbert et al. 2021). In other words, recovery capital aids in the maintenance of long-term recovery.

This connection between recovery capital and recovery success holds not only for people who have suffered from more common substance use disorders like alcohol use disorder (Moos and Moos 2007), but also for people who have suffered from more stigmatized substance use disorders involving heroin and crack cocaine (Laudet and White 2009). What’s more, recovery capital becomes especially important during crucial moments of stress and uncertainty. During the COVID-19 pandemic, which ushered in particularly high rates of relapse, those with recovery capital were most likely to maintain their recovery (Gilbert et al. 2021).

But just like other types of capital, recovery capital can be both gained and lost. And just as gaining recovery capital can improve someone's ability to maintain recovery, losing it can challenge their recovery. For example, accessing stable housing can be critical to allow a person entering recovery to feel safe and secure; conversely, experiencing an eviction can land a person on the streets, creating trauma that can motivate substance use. Additionally, different forms of recovery capital can be more or less important at different stages across a person's recovery journey (Laudet and White 2009; Patton, Best, and Brown 2022). For example, forms of economic capital like housing and health insurance might be crucial to helping jumpstart recovery, while forms of cultural capital like a sense of purpose in life or life meaning can become more crucial at later stages of recovery.

Recovery capital is also not naturally distributed equally across social groups. People from marginalized backgrounds (e.g., people who have low incomes or people who are justice-involved) may possess less recovery capital than those from more privileged backgrounds (Cloud and Granfield 2001). Consequently, interventions that build recovery capital are especially essential to help level the playing field, making long-term recovery possible for larger swaths of people. Luckily, we know that such interventions exist. For example, studies have shown that peer-based recovery support services provided by recovery community organizations are successful in helping individuals build recovery capital (Ashford et al. 2021; Bliuc et al. 2017; Elswick and Fallin-Bennett 2020). Nevertheless, it is essential that these interventions be culturally responsive and consider the backgrounds of the populations they intend to serve (Pouille et al. 2021; SAMHSA n.d.).

How Can Extension Programs Build Recovery Capital?

Penn State Extension provides access to a vast array of programs that can help Pennsylvanians learn how to work the land, develop skills, grow businesses, serve their communities, protect their environments, and raise healthy families. These programs include in-person workshops, online courses, and on-site consultations, ensuring that there is an option for every person's unique needs and circumstances. Importantly, many of these programs can help both individuals and communities build recovery capital, ensuring that people in recovery have the resources they need to maintain it and that communities are prepared to support them.

Many of our programs can help people build human recovery capital, learning new things, developing new skills, and discovering new hobbies. Our Let's Cook classes can inspire new interests in cooking and nutrition; our Everybody Walk Across Pennsylvania program can kickstart healthy exercise habits; our Tree Climbing School can grow passions for the outdoors; our Beginning Farmer program can teach people about starting a career in farming; and our Mental Wellness Series can equip people with the skills to take care of their mental health and well-being.

Beyond conferring new knowledge and skills, our programs can also confer cultural recovery capital through credentialing. Our ServSafe® Food Protection Manager Certificate and the Food Science Certificate Program can provide recognized credentials that can jumpstart a career in the food industry. Our Grant Writing workshop confers a certificate that may help those seeking to break into the non-profit industry. And our Pesticide Applicator training program confers a certificate that may be useful for those in agriculture.

Penn State Extension can also help people learn how to improve their economic recovery capital. OurYour Money Mattersseries teaches participants how to manage debt, develop a budget, and work towards financial wellness.

Participating in Extension programs can also help people build symbolic recovery capital. We house a number of widely recognized and highly regarded volunteer programs that serve both communities and the environment. Becoming a Master Watershed Steward, a Tree Tender, or a Master Gardener can not only provide volunteers a sense of purpose in their communities but can also place them as someone who is a Good Samaritan or steward of their community. Serving through these programs can help rebuild a positive reputation as a contributing member of one's community.

Beyond the individual, our programs can strengthen families’ social recovery capital. The THRIVE Parenting Education program can help parents in recovery learn how to strengthen relationships with their children, while the Relatives as Parents Program can help relatives rebuild relationships with their adult children in recovery.

Finally, our programs can help communities build community recovery capital. The One Community Many Generations community assessment and planning process can help communities come together to strengthen community trust and cohesion, creating accepting environments that support people in recovery. The Mental Health First Aid program can help everyday people recognize and support loved ones and neighbors facing mental health challenges and substance use issues. And lastly, ongoing education efforts by the Substance Use Education team, such as the Addiction 101 and Stigma and Substance Use webinars seek to reduce substance use stigma across Pennsylvania.

Recovery is possible. Recovery capital can help. Penn State Extension can be a partner as both Pennsylvanians and their communities become recovery ready.

Penn State Extension and Substance Use Education

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), over 750,000 Pennsylvania residents currently face a substance use disorder (2020). Hundreds of thousands more are living in recovery (SAMHSA 2023). Penn State Extension is committed to disseminating evidence-based education on substance use and substance use disorder, supporting people with substance use disorder in reaching recovery, and providing communities the tools to reduce the prevalence of substance use disorder.

References

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