Project Summary/Abstract The purpose of this study is to advance the science of recovery from alcohol problems through development of a standardized survey measure of recovery capital. Recovery capital is a theoretical construct that encompasses the ways in which physical, social, human, and cultural resources shape a person's likelihood of sustaining recovery from addiction. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of recovery indicators beyond alcohol consumption/abstinence, such as gains in health and overall quality of life. Although research indicates that recovery capital plays an important role in holistic recovery outcomes and that deficits in recovery capital may partially drive socioeconomic disparities in such outcomes, the field is limited by the lack of a psychometrically sound quantitative measure. Currently, the predominant measure of recovery capital is the 50-item Assessment of Recovery Capital (ARC), recently made available as a brief 10-item version (BARC- 10). The ARC appears misaligned with the theoretical literature; for example, its sobriety subscale implies an abstinence-based definition of recovery, which is inconsistent with recovery capital theory. Building from a preliminary study indicating psychometric weaknesses with the ARC when used with a racially and ethnically diverse low-income sample (N=273), in the proposed study we will develop a new measure of recovery capital, the Multidimensional Inventory of Recovery Capital. We will employ best practices in measurement development to generate an item pool that is informed by theoretical conceptualizations of recovery capital, as well as the perspectives of diverse individuals in recovery. Initial items will be refined through focus groups and cognitive interviews with people in recovery from alcohol problems, stratified by income and race/ethnicity, and will include individuals recovering without assistance from formal treatment systems. The emergent measure will be rigorously pilot-tested in a national sample using Amazon MTurk (n=500) and will use graded response models as an extension of item response theory to assess and calibrate item performance. The study will also establish the psychometric properties of the final measure in a nationally representative sample (n=500). Using a sequential mixed methods approach, our study will address the following specific aims: (1) Develop a new theory-aligned measure of recovery capital, the Multidimensional Inventory of Recovery Capital, using qualitative analysis of focus group and cognitive interviewing data with an economically and racially inclusive sample of people in recovery from alcohol problems; (2) Pilot test the Multidimensional Inventory of Recovery Capital in an economically and racially diverse sample of people in recovery from alcohol problems and assess its feasibility, reliability, and item performance; and (3) Establish a final version of the Multidimensional Inventory of Recovery Capital through assessment of its reliability, validity, and factor structure in a nationally representative sample of people in recovery from alcohol problems.

Project Narrative The proposed project will contribute to public health by advancing efforts to standardize data collection on dimensions of recovery beyond alcohol consumption and reductions in problem severity. The development of new measures can facilitate further research examining resources for addiction recovery and how resource gaps may underlie socioeconomic disparities in recovery outcomes. New recovery measures are also important for directing treatment providers' attention to neglected aspects of service planning, including helping patients assess and increase their social, physical, human, and cultural resources for recovery.