Developing and Prioritising a Recovery Capital Framework for Emerging Adults With Drug Addiction in Malaysia

This two-round modified exploratory Delphi study identified and prioritized recovery-capital dimensions perceived as salient for emerging adults with drug addiction in Malaysia. In Round 1, 18 professionals and people with lived recovery experience provided open-ended responses that were thematically synthesized into six dimensions: Identity Reconstruction in Emerging Adulthood, Recovery-Oriented Healthcare Capital, Cultural and Religious Resources for Recovery, Family-Centered Recovery Capital, Supportive Social Environments and Stigma Resilience, and Structural Reintegration and Social Stability. Ten participants (55.6% retention) independently ranked the dimensions in Round 2. Identity Reconstruction in Emerging Adulthood and Family-Centered Recovery Capital ranked highest. Rankings showed statistically significant but limited concordance, Kendall’s W = .259, χ 2 (5) = 12.971, p = .024. The framework is a preliminary, contextually grounded synthesis of expert and experiential judgments; it does not establish a validated hierarchy, causal effects, or population-level priorities.