Canfield, Brian

Research indicates that opioid use disorder (OUD) is the most fatal and rapidly growing substance use disorder (SUD) in the United States, affecting over three million Americans with nearly a million overdose deaths since 1999 (Azadfard et al., 2021; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2023). Despite the pervasiveness of this diagnosis, research fails to evaluate counselors’ efficacy beliefs regarding the clinical treatment of the OUD client population. Similarly, despite the support that exists for affiliation with 12-step recovery groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous improving recovery outcomes for those diagnosed with OUD (Costello et al., 2019; Humphreys et al., 2020; Kelly et al., 2020), studies assessing counselors’ knowledge of 12-step recovery are scarce in the counseling literature. The present study targeted these two under-represented constructs by examining the relationship between counselors’ knowledge of 12-step recovery and their opioid use disorder counseling self-efficacy (OUDCSE). Counselors’ addiction beliefs and personal substance use experience (PSUE) were chosen as variables in this study, as both have a clinically significant influence on the counseling process and efficacy beliefs (Bawden, 2020; Cronin et al., 2014; Nielson, 2016). The researcher obtained approval from the university’s Institutional Review Board and used convenience and snowball sampling to recruit 161 licensed mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and certified clinical rehabilitation counselors for participation.

Chronic illness increases each year in the United States with about 117 million people living with a chronic condition (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). There are more than 100 autoimmune conditions (AARDA, 2019). This particular study focuses on a very specific population, which is women with systemic lupus erythematosus; in which women compose 50.9% of the population (United States Census Bureau, 2010). The specific variables being evaluated are marital satisfaction with a special focus on partner intimacy (sexual relations) and the relationship that exists between these variables in women who have the condition. The study aims at forming a marriage between the medical field and the counseling field to have better understanding and ultimately provide a more comprehensive treatment from the findings of this research. Prior studies suggest that marital satisfaction and partner intimacy are affected when a person has a chronic condition, albeit very little research has been done in the last decade that focuses on this particular population with these specific variables.
Seventy six (N=76) women with systemic lupus erythematosus participated in this study. There were 76 females. The diverse participants had an age mean of 44.16 and a standard deviation of 10.59. There were African American (n=7), Asian (n=3), Caucasian (n=55), American/Alaskan Native (n=1), Native Hawaiian (n=1), Pacific Islander (n=3), NA’s (n=6). Education levels were high school (n=17), bachelor’s (n=33), master’s (n=15), doctorate (n=4), other (n=6) and NA’s (n=1). There were employed (n=64) and not employed (n=12). From the Midwest (n=8), Northeast (n=11), Northwest (n=6), Southeast (n=37), Southwest (n=14), NA’s (n=4). The participants were diagnosed varying years from 1992 until 2021, with NA’s (n=7). Flare up mean was 2.7, with a standard deviation of 2.3. The household income mean was $87,784.10 with a standard deviation of 49063.08. The relationship between marital satisfaction, partner intimacy and resiliency in women with lupus was measured by using bivariate regression analysis. The implications of the findings, study limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.