Locus-of-hope in substance abuse recovery: moderation of locus-of-hope between temptation-restraint and abstinence self-efficacy in therapeutic communities

Purpose Therapeutic communities (TC) change the patient’s thinking and behavior by facilitating abstinence self-efficacy to attain substance temptation restraint. However, abstinence self-efficacy does not involve the capacity to generate strategies to achieve temptation restraint. TC also emphasizes the importance of self-help and mutual self-help, engaging peers to achieve temptation restraint. This study aims to explore the following: 1) explore how abstinence self-efficacy predicts temptation restraint; 2) how external peer hope influences abstinence self-efficacy and temptation restraint; and 3) how internal hope influences the moderating role of external peer hope. Design/methodology/approach A predictive and cross-sectional design was utilized to test the moderating effects of internal and external peer hope on the relationship between abstinence self-efficacy and temptation restraint. Process macro model 3 was used to explore the moderation of external peer hope and internal hope. Findings Results reflect a significant interaction of internal hope and external peer hope in moderating the relationship between abstinence self-efficacy and temptation restraint. Slope analysis suggests that combinations of high internal hope and high external peer hope, and high internal hope and low external peer hope positively interact with abstinence self-efficacy and temptation restraint. Originality/value This study provides empirical evidence on the role of locus-of-hope in substance use recovery in therapeutic communities in the Philippines. Furthermore, the findings provide valuable insights into the synergistic and compensatory mechanism of the locus-of-hope in therapeutic communities.