Addiction, Behavioral Change and Social Identity: The Path to Resilience and Recovery

Changing health-related behaviour is for many people a lonely and isolating experience. Individual willpower is often not enough, particularly in addressing addictive behaviour, but research increasingly points to the potential of group identity to shape behaviour change and support recovery. This important collection explores the social and cognitive processes that enable people who join recovery groups to address their addictive issues. In an era of increasing concern at the long-term costs of chronic ill-health, the potential to leverage group identity to inspire resilience and recovery offers a timely and practical response. The book examines the theoretical foundations to a social identity approach in addressing behavior change across a range of contexts, including alcohol addiction, obesity and crime, whilst also examining topics such as the use of online forums to foster recovery. It will be essential reading for students, researchers and policy makers across health psychology, social care, as well as anyone interested in behavioural change and addiction recovery.