The effectiveness of mutual help groups (MHGs) in promoting addiction recovery has been widely acknowledged. However, the psychological mechanisms underlying the impact of MHGs remain somewhat uncertain. Drawing on a social identity perspective, this study investigated a sequential mediation model in which social support is posited as a driving factor that enhances abstinence maintenance through group identification, recovery identity, and self‐efficacy. A sample of 820 smokers, participating in a 6‐month collective smoking cessation programme which included access to an online help group, completed measures of social support, group identification, smoker/ex‐smoker identity, and self‐efficacy at the programme's outset. Smoking abstinence was assessed 6 and 9 months later. The findings supported the proposed model, indicating that social support was positively associated with MHG identification, which, in turn, was related to a stronger recovery identity. Subsequently, recovery identity was associated with increased self‐efficacy, and indirectly, with smoking abstinence at both measurement times. Additional analyses testing alternative mediation models further supported the validity of the proposed model. These findings suggest that social identity factors play significant roles in accounting for the effectiveness of MHGs for addiction recovery.

中文翻译：

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揭示互助小组成瘾康复的心理机制：社会身份因素的作用


互助小组 （MHG） 在促进成瘾康复方面的有效性已得到广泛认可。然而，MHG 影响背后的心理机制仍然有些不确定。借鉴社会身份的观点，本研究调查了一个顺序中介模型，其中社会支持被认为是通过群体识别、恢复身份和自我效能感来增强戒断维持的驱动因素。820 名吸烟者的样本参加了为期 6 个月的集体戒烟计划，其中包括访问在线帮助小组，在计划开始时完成了社会支持、群体识别、吸烟者/戒烟者身份和自我效能感的测量。在 6 个月和 9 个月后评估戒烟情况。研究结果支持所提出的模型，表明社会支持与 MHG 识别呈正相关，而 MHG 识别又与更强的康复身份有关。随后，恢复身份与自我效能感增加相关，间接与两个测量时间的戒烟有关。测试替代中介模型的其他分析进一步支持了所提出模型的有效性。这些发现表明，社会身份因素在解释 MHG 对成瘾康复的有效性方面起着重要作用。