Study findings suggest that improved well-being, as reflected by economic status, is more influential than shedding the stigma of being an addict in long-term recovery of drug addiction. Study results showed that decreased drug use led to improved economic status and that participants who spent more years in school had significantly higher incomes and better chances of being employed than their less educated counterparts. Additionally, results showed that higher economic status is positively and significantly related to self-esteem which is instrumental for long-term recovery. Data for the study were collected from 1992 through 1998 from the Delaware Department of Corrections as part of a research project funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Results were derived from 628 participants from the Key/Crest therapeutic community-based program who completed base-line and subsequent interviews and provided urine samples over a 42 month period. Tables, figure, glossary, and references