title: Love and Service in Adolescent Addiction Recovery.
abstract: This article is one of the first to examine the relationships among a specific combination of "spiritual virtues" (helping others and the experience of divine love) and outcomes related to criminal involvement, sobriety, and character development among adolescents. One-hundred ninety five adolescents with substance dependency court-referred to residential treatment were assessed at intake, discharge, and 6 months post-treatment. Higher service to others predicted reduced recidivism, reduced relapse, and greater character development. Experiencing divine love enhanced the effect of service on recidivism. Greater attention to spiritual virtues might improve treatment for youth involved with alcohol, drugs, and certain forms of crime.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio USA.
authors.forename: Matthew T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Ohio USA.
authors.forename: Maria E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Pagano
authors.affiliation: Program on Prosocial Behavior, Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University, Waco, Texas USA.
authors.forename: Byron R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York USA.
authors.forename: Stephen G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Post
keywords: Alcoholics Anonymous; Youth addiction; adolescents; service; spirituality