The results suggest that an important contributor to the development of motivation for change is a perceived conflict between being an addict and holding other important and positively valued identities, or between being an addict and becoming the person one had hoped to become. Average scores on identity-related motivation for abstinence were higher in this sample than were comparable scores for motivation arising from social influence, health, and legal issues. Moreover, the results suggest that motivation arising from identity issues is associated with success at behavior change, at least among certain categories of substance users and during early stages of recovery. Superior success among the identity-motivated group was demonstrated even after adjustment for overall level of motivation. Our study offers support, using a larger sample from a different population and based on a different set of measures, for the findings of Weisz (1996) that the effect of identity issues on behavior change endures for at least 3 months. Both studies suggest that identity-related motivation occurring in a natural setting produces more durable change than similar motivation produced in the laboratory (Stone et al., 1994). Although identity motivation showed some association with treatment engagement, the association of identity motivation with abstinence remained after adjustment for treatment dose. Motivation related to self-concept was also associated with particpants’ stage of change, but—as with treatment engagement—this factor did not completely explain the link with abstinence.
The covariation of identity motivation and Taking Steps may reflect that individuals who are initially motivated by factors related to self-concept move forward with active change more quickly than those motivated by other factors. Alternatively, active involvement in a process of change may lead to changes in self-standards or to an increased awareness of discrepancies between existing standards and behavior. Individuals’ drugs of choice may be an important consideration. Our data suggested that identity issues may be more effective abstinence motivators for those preferring some drugs (e.g., cannabis) than for those preferring others (e.g., opiates). Moreover, identity may exert its strongest motivational effect on the achievement of abstinence from drugs other than the drug of choice—that is, drugs that are used in addition to or as substitutes for the drug of choice. Results of our study support the hypothesis that self-concept motivation characterizes some identifiable groups of substance abusers more than others. In this sample cocaine abusers, those whose past use had been directed toward reducing self-dissatisfaction, those whose personal networks were nonsupportive of use, those perceiving few rewards, and those perceiving high costs of using were more likely than others to attribute abstinence attempts to factors related to self-concept.
References
Downey, Lois, David B. Rosengren, and Dennis M. Donovan. 2000. “To thine own self be true.” Addictive behaviors 25 (5): 743–57. doi:10.1016/S0306-4603(00)00091-5.