David Best
Biographic Data
| ID | 148525 |
|---|---|
| NAME | David Best |
| GIVEN NAMES | David |
| FAMILY NAME | Best |
| SIGNATURE | BEST D |
| AFFILIATIONS | Sheffield Hallam University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6792-916X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 87 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 47 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 86 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1974 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
A qualitative comparative investigation of the role of social recovery capital among early- and late-onset problem drinkers in recovery
Background Due to late-life stressors some individuals start drinking problematically later in life. Late-onset drinkers comprise one-third of older problem drinkers, yet research on this group regarding recovery is scarce. Because their alcohol problem manifests later in life, late-onset drinkers may have acquired greater reserves of social recovery capital (SRC) than their early-onset counterparts. This study investigates that assumption.Method…
The impact of medications for opioid use disorder (Moud) on retention and recovery capital in recovery housing: An exploratory causal inference analysis
Different MOUD agents were associated with distinct patterns in recovery outcomes. NTX was associated with higher predicted retention, while buprenorphine formulations promote early gains in recovery capital. These findings underscore the importance of aligning pharmacological strategies with individual recovery trajectories, particularly during the initial six months of residency. Further longitudinal research is needed to inform treatment-match…
Psychological safety mediates attendance and recovery-related outcomes within the Phoenix: A sober-active community
Background: People in recovery from a substance use disorder often have difficulties forming pro-social relationships or accessing supportive communities. Providing psychological safety within recovery communities may be uniquely beneficial, yet psychological safety has mostly been studied among professional organizations and not among vulnerable populations. This program evaluation study examined associations between attendance, psychological sa…
Exploring cultural dynamics of Black Asian Minority Ethnic (Bame) women in addiction recovery: A comparison of three women from different ethnic backgrounds
Background The existing recovery capital (RC) literature primarily focuses on white males. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring addiction recovery among three culturally diverse UK women, utilizing CHIME-D (Connectedness, Hope/Optimism, Identity, Meaning, Empowerment, and Difficulties) and RC frameworks. It seeks to compare their recovery paths, combining quantitative data with lived experiences, and barriers specific to women in recover…
A cluster analysis of European life in recovery data: What are the typical patterns of recovery experience
Introduction There is little research around recovery pathways and how they cluster together by individual and situational factors according to time in recovery.Method This paper uses a cluster analysis with data from the European Life in Recovery (LiR) survey to produce typologies of recovery pathways around stages of recovery: early ( 5 years). A secondary aim was to explore evidence of national variations among clusters.Results Cluster analysi…
Implementing a Recovery Capital Model Into Therapeutic Courts: Case Study and Lessons Learned
Recovery capital is a strengths-based and multi-level model for examining the process and outputs of recovery and desistance. Recovery capital posits that the more positive resources one accrues, the better the chances of recovery. Oftentimes growth of one’s recovery capital must be initiated through identifying programs in the community to create supportive scaffolding: this may be especially true for individuals involved in the justice system w…
Peer Mentors and Desistance: A Systematic Literature Review and Synthesis
This systematic literature review investigates the deployment and effectiveness of peer mentors in criminal justice practice. The findings reveal a lack of any consistent definition of what constitutes a peer becoming a mentor within this context. Despite this, strong evidence suggests that support from a peer mentor alongside formal interventions positively influences subjective factors that contribute to desistance from crime for both mentors a…
Longitudinal Changes in Recovery Capital Among Recovery House Residents With and Without Criminal Legal System Involvement: A Marginal Structural Modeling Analysis
Individuals with a history of criminal legal system (CLS) involvement may experience additional challenges to their recovery from substance addiction. We compared recovery capital trajectories of individuals in recovery residences with and without the involvement of CLS and assessed predictors of their Overall Recovery Capital Score (ORCS). We employed a quasi-experimental approach using weighted repeated measures modeling to compare the ORCS on …
An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and Comparison of the Narratives of Early- and Late-Onset Problem Drinkers in Recovery
As a reaction to late-life events (e.g., bereavement, retirement) and feelings of meaninglessness and purposelessness, one-third of older problem drinkers only start to consume alcohol excessively later in life. Referred to as late-onset, limited research has been undertaken on this distinct cohort of older problem drinkers from the perspective of recovery generally, and more specifically, in the context of recovery capital (RC). Framed within Vi…
An “outside in” model of recovery capital growth: Building personal and social recovery capital from community resources
What constitutes a women’s recovery from addiction? Examining lived experiences and recovery capital of women from diverse European backgrounds
A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of the Retrospective “Active Drinking Voices” of Two Types of Older Problem Drinkers, Now in Recovery
One-third of older problem drinkers are late-onset. So called, because their problem drinking emerges later in life, however, little is known about the epidemiology of the population's drinking behaviors. By identifying the psychosocial risk factors that inform the adverse changes in the group's drinking behavior, the article aims to contribute to a better understanding of why this subgroup of older individuals begin drinking problematically in l…
Visualizing the Influence of Social Networks on Recovery: A Mixed-Methods Social Identity Mapping Study with Recovering Adolescents
Background: Social recovery capital (SRC) refers to resources and supports gained through relationships and is vital to adolescent addiction recovery. Much is known about how substance use relates to social networks, but little is known about how other dimensions of social networks influence recovery (e.g., network size/exposure, degree of conflict). Methods: This mixed-methods study sampled 28 adolescents who received treatment for alcohol and o…
Delivering Peer-Based Support in Prisons During the Covid Pandemic and Lockdown: Innovative Activities Delivered by People Who Care
During COVID and lockdown, many prisoners have not only been affected by infection transmission in crowded and ill-equipped institutions, they have also been separated from a range of supports, including loss of family and professional supports and support for prisoners with addiction and/or mental health problems has been disrupted. This paper reports on evidence of how peer-based recovery organizations have attempted to mitigate these adverse e…
Modeling Recovery Housing Retention and Program Outcomes by Justice Involvement among Residents in Virginia, USA: An Observational Study
Living in recovery housing can improve addiction recovery and desistance outcomes. This study examined whether retention in recovery housing and types of discharge outcomes (completed, “neutral,” and “negative” outcomes) differed for clients with recent criminal legal system (CLS) involvement. Using data from 101 recovery residences certified by the Virginia Association of Recovery Residences based on 1,978 individuals completing the REC-CAP asse…
Composition of social networks to build recovery capital differ across early and stable stages of recovery
Background Recovery capital describes the sum of resources – personal, social, or community – that can be drawn upon to sustain recovery from addiction. Recovery capital increases with progression through the stages of recovery; early ( 5 years). The proportion of people in recovery within one's social network, as well as the number of supports, have been associated with greater recovery capital, although recovery capital has been found to be low…
The science of recovery capital: Where do we go from here?
Overcoming the pains of recovery: The management of negative recovery capital during addiction recovery pathways
Recovery is experienced in both positive and negative ways and this paper attempts to integrate the ‘pains of desistance’ approach into a recovery capital framework. Pains experienced as a result of negative recovery capital are often thought to stimulate motivations for positive behavioral change, usually through a ‘rock bottom’ type moment. Whilst recovery capital and barriers to recovery have been explored in the literature, conceptualizing th…
Substitute addictions in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic
The global spread of COVID-19, subsequent stay-at-home requirements, spatial distancing measures, and long-term isolation present additional challenges for persons in recovery. Using an illustrative case from South Africa, we discuss COVID-19 related pornography use through the lens of relapse and substitute addiction. South Africa is the epicenter of the pandemic in Africa, and has issued an alcohol and cigarette ban. Historical examples suggest…
Gender and recovery pathways in the UK
Recovery is now the defining feature of UK drug and alcohol policy. Despite this policy emphasis, little attention has been paid to the lived experience of those in recovery. Instead, research has typically concentrated on treatment populations, which are predominantly male. Consequently, we have little insight into recovery experiences in general, and specifically how they might differ for females and males. This article makes an important contr…
Mechanisms and mediators of addiction recovery
Addiction recovery is a complex, dynamic and non-linear process of change on multiple life domains, and in substance\nuse patterns in particular (Dekkers et al., 2020; White, 2007). While early definitions equated recovery with ‘remission’,\n‘abstinence’ or absence of symptoms of dependence, later conceptualisations have also emphasised the importance of\nhealth, well-being, quality of life, citizenship and social participation, as illustrated in…
Chasing a pot of gold: An analysis of emerging recovery-oriented addiction policies in Flanders (Belgium) and The Netherlands
Following the paradigm shift to recovery in the Anglophone world, recovery is also gaining momentum in drug policy and practice in Flanders (Belgium) and the Netherlands. Since the meaning of recovery is being debated internationally, broadening the assessment of how the recovery framework is applied in policy discourse and how it is implemented in various international contexts is imperative. This comparative policy analysis aims to assess simil…
Are members of mutual aid groups better equipped for addiction recovery? European cross-sectional study into recovery capital, social networks, and commitment to sobriety
An increasing body of evidence shows that informal mutual aid groups benefit those in addiction recovery. However, attention for mutual aid groups in practice and policy varies internationally and is only recently emerging in continental Europe. Existing evidence is mostly limited to studies of Alcoholics Anonymous groups in the United States. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to examine the relationship between membership of a variety of …
Justice capital: A model for reconciling structural and agentic determinants of desistance
The emerging literature on desistance (and recovery from addictions) has focused on key life-course transitions that can be characterised as the need for jobs (meaningful activities), friends (transitioning to pro-social) and houses (a home free from threat). The term ‘recovery capital’ is used to characterise personal, social and community resources an individual can draw upon to support their recovery, partly bridging agentic (personal) and str…
Inkspots and ice cream cones: A model of recovery contagion and growth
The model of recovery is based on an individualized and personalized journey of change and growth that is recognized both to be socially supported and mediated and to be contextually bound in terms of community resources and assets (as well as barriers and challenges in the local community). Specificity and precision has been added to recovery models by the emerging concept of ‘recovery capital’ creating not only the potential for a recovery metr…
Building addiction recovery capital through online participation in a recovery community
The Aesthetic in Sport
Journal Article THE AESTHETIC IN SPORT Get access David Best David Best Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The British Journal of Aesthetics, Volume 14, Issue 3, SUMMER 1974, Pages 197–213, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjaesthetics/14.3.197 Published: 01 March 1974
Social identity differentiation predicts commitment to sobriety and wellbeing in residents of therapeutic communities
Ethnic and Gender Differences in Drinking and Smoking among London Adolescents
The importance of sociocultural factors in relation to race and gender in predicting onset and escalation of substance use is discussed. The fact that age of onset does not appear to be a significant determinant of transition rate from initiation to regular use is also explored
What the recovery movement tells us about prefigurative politics
The concept of prefigurative politics has re-emerged following recent worldwide uprisings, such as the Occupy movement, to which this concept has been applied. In applying a contemporary analysis to prefigurative politics, we explore the contribution of community-based recovery groups to the recovery movement, a socio-political movement in the fields of mental health and addiction treatment. We argue that collective action in recovery groups is d…
Risk profiles for early adolescents who regularly use alcohol and other drugs compared with older youth
This mixed method article identifies how risk factors differ across the age range serviced by Australian youth alcohol and other drug (AOD) agencies. It is intended to inform the development of interventions targeting early adolescents aged 13–15 years. Focusing on survey variables concerning substance choice and identified risk factors for problematic AOD, we compare the characteristics of early adolescents against older youth aged 16–19 and 20–…
Criminal thinking and self-control among drug users in court mandated treatment
This article aims to explore the relationship between self-control and criminal thinking in a population of drug using offenders attending a court mandated treatment programme, and how this relates to recent offending and substance use. Fifty drug using offenders attending a Birmingham Drug Intervention Programme clinic under the terms of a Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR) completed standardized measures of self-control and criminal thinking…
Shootings by the Police: What Predicts When a Firearms Officer in England and Wales Will Pull the Trigger
The study reviews 20 police shootings between 1998 and 2001 that are classified by the police as “spontaneous incidents” (in other words, they did not involve incident pre-planning by the firearms commanders). The study used Police Complaints Authority files to review time intervals between initial police awareness of the incidents, arrival at the scene of firearms officers and the initial discharge of police weapons. The aim was to assess what f…
Sober social networks: The role of online support groups in recovery from alcohol addiction
In the context of addiction research, positive recovery outcomes are affected by the quality of people's social interactions and perhaps to an even greater extent, by the defining norms of the groups they identify with—that is, using versus recovery groups. Here, we examine the role of online supportive networks in the process of recovery from alcohol addiction. We analyse the relationship between negative and positive aspects of recovery capital…
Patterns of family conflict and their impact on substance use and psychosocial outcomes in a sample of young people in treatment
The influence of family environment on adolescent substance use is well established, but little is known about its impact on outcomes for young people in treatment for substance use disorders. This study aimed to investigate the impact of family conflict and its resolution on substance use and measures of well-being among adolescents in treatment. Eighty young people (aged 16–21 years) were recruited from youth-specific alcohol and drug community…
Gender differences in risk and treatment uptake in drug using offenders assessed in custody suite settings
The aim of the study was to assess gender differences in risk profile among drug users in police custody in Birmingham and to examine levels of drug treatment engagement by gender. This article presents findings from an assessment of 1082 Arrest Referral Risk Matrices used by Drug Arrest Referral Workers in police custody between 2005 and 2006. Risk is measured on three elements, ‘drug spend’, current offending and arrest history, and three warni…
The Objectivity of Artistic Appreciation
Journal Article THE OBJECTIVITY OF ARTISTIC APPRECIATION Get access David Best David Best Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The British Journal of Aesthetics, Volume 20, Issue 2, SPRING 1980, Pages 115–127, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjaesthetics/20.2.115 Published: 01 February 1980
The Aesthetic in Sport
Journal Article THE AESTHETIC IN SPORT Get access David Best David Best Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The British Journal of Aesthetics, Volume 14, Issue 3, SUMMER 1974, Pages 197–213, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjaesthetics/14.3.197 Published: 01 March 1974
The Aesthetics Of Dance
In considering dance, the arts generally, human movement and physical education from a philosophical point of view, it has increasingly struck me that perhaps the biggest single area of confusion in the theoretical literature on these important aspects of human experience concerns the relationship of body to mind. This is, of course, a very large issue in contemporary philosophy, which I have tried to consider rather more fully in a recent book. …
Bodily Communication
Free Expression, or the Teaching of Techniques
Free expression, or the teaching of techniques
A Policy for the Study of Physical Education and Human Movement
A policy for the study of physical education and human movement
Philosophy and Human Movement
The Objectivity of Artistic Appreciation
Journal Article THE OBJECTIVITY OF ARTISTIC APPRECIATION Get access David Best David Best Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The British Journal of Aesthetics, Volume 20, Issue 2, SPRING 1980, Pages 115–127, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjaesthetics/20.2.115 Published: 01 February 1980
Philosophy and Human Movement
Can Creativity Be Taught
Can creativity be taught
(1982). Can creativity be taught? British Journal of Educational Studies: Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 280-294
A Reply to My Critics
Journal Article A REPLY TO MY CRITICS Get access David Best David Best Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The British Journal of Aesthetics, Volume 23, Issue 2, spring 1983, Pages 148–163, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjaesthetics/23.2.148 Published: 01 February 1983
Logic, Particularity and Art
Journal Article LOGIC, PARTICULARITY AND ART Get access David Best David Best Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The British Journal of Aesthetics, Volume 23, Issue 4, AUTUMN 1983, Pages 306–318, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjaesthetics/23.4.306 Published: 01 April 1983
Reason and Feeling in the Arts
Creativity: Education in the Spirit of Enquiry
Creativity: Education in the spirit of enquiry
The Rationality of Feeling: Understanding the Arts in Education
Collective, Integrated Arts: The Expedient Generic Myth
(1995). Collective, Integrated Arts: The Expedient Generic Myth. Arts Education Policy Review: Vol. 97, No. 1, pp. 32-39.
Risk behaviours for HIV and hepatitis infection among anabolic-androgenic steroid users
This study examined HIV and hepatitis risk behaviours among anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) users and controls, providing a detailed assessment of both injection and sexual practices. Fifty AAS-using and 40 non-AAS-using weight trainers completed a semi-structured interview followed by a detailed questionnaire. The 'high risk' behaviour of sharing needles and syringes was not current practice among the AAS-using sample, with only one user repor…
Peer-initiated overdose resuscitation: Fellow drug users could be mobilised to implement resuscitation
Understanding the Developmental Relationship Between Drug Use and Crime: Are Drug Users the Best People to Ask
The study investigates developmental associations in the relationship between drug use and crime among 100 treatment-seeking opiate addicts. While 56% of the sample report having committed 2,785 acquisitive crimes in the previous month, there are strong developmental patterns. Those who have committed crimes before age 14 have earlier onset of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and cocaine use and a lower first age of heroin problems. This relates to per…
Ethnic and Gender Differences in Drinking and Smoking among London Adolescents
The importance of sociocultural factors in relation to race and gender in predicting onset and escalation of substance use is discussed. The fact that age of onset does not appear to be a significant determinant of transition rate from initiation to regular use is also explored
Research Note
This article examines 64 incidents in which the police pursued or "safely followed" vehicles that failed to stop for them and which resulted in a serious injury or a fatality. Although the majority of the 71 individuals killed or injured were occupants of the pursued car, eight were pedestrians and seven were in vehicles colliding with the pursued vehicle. Those who failed to stop were primarily young males, more than half of whom were alcohol or…
Shootings by the Police: What Predicts When a Firearms Officer in England and Wales Will Pull the Trigger
The study reviews 20 police shootings between 1998 and 2001 that are classified by the police as “spontaneous incidents” (in other words, they did not involve incident pre-planning by the firearms commanders). The study used Police Complaints Authority files to review time intervals between initial police awareness of the incidents, arrival at the scene of firearms officers and the initial discharge of police weapons. The aim was to assess what f…
Psychology (68 works) · Sociology (39 works) · Psychiatry (38 works) · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes (37 works) · Medicine (36 works) · Social Psychology (31 works) · Mental Health and Patient Involvement (26 works) · Homelessness and Social Issues (25 works) · Addiction (23 works) · Political science (20 works)