Leisure participation, substance abuse disorders, and recovery

The purpose of this paper was to explore the lived experiences of people with substance abuse disorders over the course of their lengthy participation in a music scene. When the use of drugs and alcohol either begins or is enabled in a leisure context and progresses to a state of dependency, the leisure activity often becomes secondary to the use of those substances. As will be displayed, the participants of this study maintained a high level of participation during their period of indulgence and then sustained that high level of participation after overcoming their addiction. This paper challenges a commonly held assertion that the type of leisure people with substance abuse disorders engage in is different from those of people without drug or alcohol dependencies