Annotated Bibliography: Latino and Substance Abuse
Knudsen, H. K. , Ducharme, L. J. and Roman, P. M. (2007). Racial and Ethnic Disparities in SSRI Availability in Substance Abuse Treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 32, 321-329. The authors focused on the racial and ethic differences as contributory factors to availability of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs. Survey data from National Treatment Center Study were used as basis for the study. The survey sample consists of 326 publicly funded and 339 privately funded substance abuse treatment centers.
It was hypothesized that the SSRIs were given only to selected patients despite the seriousness of the need on the several bases which are equated to favoritism and racial disparity. This condition must be corrected immediately as it negatively affects the quality of service being offered by the treatment centers to the disadvantage of patients. The survey was conducted from 2002 to 2004 period. The independent variables included the percentage of African-American and Hispanic patients. Moreover, the type of treatment center, affiliation of the organization, and location of the treatment center were also added.
The size, status of accreditation, availability of proven integrated care program and physician presence were also considered. The independent variables were needed according to the authors to determine the exact source of disparity experienced. Result according to the authors indicated that the SSRIs medication is available only in 48% of the treatment centers. Regression analysis of the survey data indicated that the availability of the SSRIs was negatively correlated with the presence of Hispanic and Latino substance abuse caseloads.
The presence of a physician and or an integrated care program officer greatly helped in the availability of SSRIs medication among the centers. Despite the fact that the SSRIs are available in almost half of the treatment centers, it was proven that racial and ethnic disparities is present in the availability of the medication. The authors were able to prove that racial and ethnic differences were contributory to the availability of the SSRIs. This is an important finding presented by the author which gave credibility to the article.
The result was backed up with survey from the treatment centers which contributed to the authenticity of the findings. The credibility of the finding is an important consideration as future investigation will base their studies to be conducted from it. The statistical analysis used to determine the correlation of variables was most fitted to the design of the methodology of the survey data analysis. The authors were not able to separate the SSRIs availability in terms of private and privately sponsored substance abuse treatment centers.
Moreover, the authors failed to determine the likelihood that a Latino client with co-occurring psychological disorder will be given SSRIs in both public and private treatment centers. The paper is presented solely on the basis of self reported data from centers which may contribute greatly to bias. This is a great weakness of the paper. This may be the focus of future studies. The information given by the authors can guide the substance abuse workers in understanding in depth the intensity of co-occurring psychological disorder with substance use.
Failing to receive SSRIs to relieve suffering will lead to more intense addiction. Furthermore, the information will serve as a wake up call for treatment centers where substance abuse workers were connected. They have to treat Latino substance abusers more humanely as agencies are monitoring them. This may result to more effective program implementation. 2 Maas, C. (2004). Serving Latino clients with addictions: using best practice models when providing assistance to Latinos suffering from addiction can ensure that outcomes are more effective and help lower costs and increase the return on investment for employers.
The International Journal of the Addictions, 29 (4): 445-460. The author provided the proven best practice models of substance abuse treatment among Latinos. These models were presented from the point of view of human resource department of a company employing the addicted Latinos. The best practice models discussed in the paper resulted to more cost-effective investment on the part of the company. The philosophy behind according to the author is to provide substance abuse treatment incorporating the culture of the Latinos in the model.
The significant role of the family in the implementation, progress and follow up of the substance abuse treatment was also proven as an important consideration. It must be considered that Latinos with limited English proficiency should be given an appropriate care instruction in Spanish. The substance abuse worker must also be competent with the Latino culture. The most important consideration for the substance abuse treatment model is the incorporation of the machismo. This is due to the fact that Latinos by nature feel bad when their manhood is insulted with the treatment.
The author also reminded the inclusion of religiosity as Latinos are deeply religious. The author revealed that 80% of Hispanics who received cognitive behavior therapy fared better than those who had received just medical care from a physician. Work related accomplishment of treated employees showed improved efficiency. Those under cognitive behavioral therapy had experienced 25-47 days of fewer depression related stresses. This translates to about 1,821 days of employment more than those who received just care without the cognitive aspect in a span of two years employment.
This can be translated to increased profit for the company, the author claimed. The strength of the article is that it provided solid statistical data as to the effectiveness of the chosen substance abuse intervention model. The article was presented in an authoritative mode. By doing so, a feeling of certainty as to its result was achieved. Definition of terms which are hard to understand was also provided. This creates a more solid feeling of certainty that the treatment models were more likely to succeed if properly implemented.
The strength of the article was even more re-enforced by suggesting articles related to the topic for further reading. While suggesting further reading appears to be a strength, it may appear as a weakness. This is so as it exposed a sort of inadequacy as far as depth of information provided by the article is concerned. The data on suggested reading should have been incorporated on the literature review. This will save time on the part of the substance abuse worker. On the over-all, the weakness of the article is dwarfed by its authoritativeness.
The information provided by the author can be fully exploited by substance abuse worker. If properly implemented, the intervention can result to more success. In the absence of reliable information on the effectiveness of intervention, the data on the article is a welcome development. This will save money, effort in time on the part of the worker. The saved money, time and effort are in terms of finding a working model through experimentation. This scenario is most common among substance abuse workers considering that Latino culture needs patience to understand and internalize. 3 Torres-Rivera, E.
, Wilbur, Michael P. , Phan, Loan T. , Maddux, Cleborne D. and Roberts- Wilbur, J. (2004). Counseling Latinos with Substance Abuse Problems. Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling, 25:1, 26-43. The authors made mention of the very limited availability of studies related to substance abuse treatment among Latinos. Out of the very limited references, revealing statistics pointing to Latinos as the third most intensive substance abusers among the U. S. populace were presented. Furthermore, it was revealed by the authors that in 2007, majority of incarcerated Latino substance users were on probation.
This was a significant addition to already mounting number of Latino drug users. The authors revealed that this may mean more crimes in the street. This also supports the need for more effective and meaningful substance abuse programs. Out of the limited information on substance abuse treatment among Latinos, the authors presented an analysis. They found out that based on available studies, the interventions being done are not effective. The reason according to the authors is the fact that Latino culture is not being considered in substance abuse programs being implemented by workers.
Trust which is very essential in Latino culture was not established by substance abuse workers prior to implementation of programs. This made the programs less effective per analysis of the authors. The authors pointed out that trust can be developed by workers by participating first in Latino community activities and gatherings. By doing so, the Latinos will feel the sincerity of the substance abuse worker to extend help and welfare to them. Based from the analysis of the authors, four considerations in implementing substance abuse programs were suggested. The authors claim that the approach should be multimodal.
The culture of machismo among Latinos must be under consideration when structuring drug abuse programs. The family must be involved in the program implementation. The role of the mother should not be forgotten in convincing the sons and daughters to undergo and stay under substance abuse treatment. The suggestions in structuring and implementation of drug abuse program out of analysis of available literature appeared to be more practical. This is for the reason that culture of Latino was injected into it. This is very important as Latinos feel hurt when their culture and beliefs were set aside.
Injecting this multimodal consideration make possible the development of trust toward the substance abuse worker. When trust was developed toward the worker or researcher, embracing the program by Latinos will be much easier. A thorough analysis of available interventions techniques was compared with the multimodal approach of intervention. The proposed multimodal intervention is a result of careful analysis and therefore appeared very useful. The weakness of the article is that the interventions structured were not yet put into test. It appeared from the presentation of analysis that the tone is suggestive.
The result therefore if implemented is not yet certain. Despite the weakness of the suggested interventions, the information is an eye opener among substance abuse workers and researchers. The suggestions being put forward by the authors can serve as guide. The information will be of great help to planners in coming up with effective programs. Moreover, existing programs can be made more effective should the suggestions be incorporated. This is because as proven by literature, Latino culture and family are essential components of every program.
Putting them in consideration by workers and researchers will mean more meaningful and useful program that will ensure more welfare for the Latino immigrants. 4 Torres Stone, R. A. and Meyler, D. (2004). Exploring Culture Among Rural Latino Youth: Implications for Substance Abuse Research. Journal of the Studies on Alcohol, 64(2), 167-175. Torres Stone and Meyler argued that most studies on Latino and substance abuse focus on adults and often ignore the situation in adolescents. Although some studies delve on Latino youth, very few have studied the rural Latino youth.
The authors provided proof to this unavailability of studies on rural Latino youth by presenting their literature review. Among others, the authors cited the study by Mora and Gilbert (1999) claiming that there is still a critical shortage of knowledge related to the effect of acculturation process. The process was known to be associated with the onset of early alcohol use which in turn is further connected with early use of drugs. A total of six focus group discussions which lasted for 12 hours each were conducted in two Nebraska schools.
Each focus group involved interviewing 14 to 16 year old students representing 30 to 40% of the student population. Nebraska was chosen as pilot study area among the U. S. states as this is where majority of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation Latinos immigrated and were studying. The aim of the authors was to find the correlation between ethnic identity, acculturative stress and gender norms on the tendency of the Latino youth to engage in substance abuse. The result of the focus group discussion revealed that acculturation stresses were great predictors of alcoholism and substance abuse.
It was also revealed from the focus group discussion that the 2nd and third generation Latinos and South Americans were more prone to substance abuse than the 1st generation. This is was due to the fact that the first generation Latinos still possess their belief from home country that substance abuse is not good. The culture of rural Latinos exemplified by the 1st generation was slowly diluted by the American culture as the 2nd and 3rd generation Latino youth were absorbed into main flow of American society. It was also confirmed from the focus group discussions that maintenance of cultural identity among Latino youth immigrant is essential.
Together with parental control and gender norms, these served as protectors against substance abuse. Learning English open the likelihood to substance abuse. The reason for this is acculturation. The stress related to acculturation also was proven predictor of substance abuse. The limitation of the study was that it was conducted in only two sites. Conducting similar focus group discussions in other predominant Latino stronghold can add reliability into the findings. Another limitation of the study is that the respondents are in the same room.
The responses can be influenced by others and may not be the truth. Despite the limitations, the study provided some important policy implications. These implications can serve as guide for future programs on substance abuse and prevention. In order to have a better understanding of the effect of acculturation on substance abuse, mores studies on the role of ethic identity, acculturative stress and gender norms was proposed. The information revealed by the study can guide the substance abuse workers and researchers on the proper approach to Latinos, young and old alike.
This will enable the workers to institute effective programs on substance abuse. Knowing the protectors for substance abuse in the like of parental disapproval and sex roles among Latinos can guide workers in planning effective substance abuse programs. Moreover, knowing the proper approach to implementation of programs will ensure greater acceptance by Latinos. This will ensure more efficient program results. 5 Zemore, S. E, Mulia, N. , Ye, P. H. , Burgess, G. , and Greenfield T. K. (2009). Gender, acculturation, and other barriers to alcohol treatment utilization among Latinos in three National Alcohol Surveys.
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 36:4, 446-456. The authors revealed information based on the three waves of the U. S. National Alcohol Surveys in 1995 to 2005. The information relate to the perceived treatment barriers among Latinos on lifetime alcohol addiction interventions. A total of 2,178 women and 2,024 men all of Latino descent were sampled in the study. Linear and logistic regressions were used in the analysis of data collected. Year survey period, severity and related variates, gender roles and English language proficiency were the factors considered in the survey.
Result revealed that male gender and English language proficiency among immigrant Latinos is a strong predictor of alcohol dependency. The male gender among Latinos is socially accepted in their culture to take alcohol as a sign of machismo. This provides a barrier in treatment models related to alcohol addiction. By nature of their culture, the authors claimed that it is lesser of a man if he does not take alcohol. As a result, more Latino men are inclined to be alcoholic. English language proficiency is also reported by the authors as strong predictor of alcohol addiction among Latino immigrants.
Latinos who were proficient in English language tend to be more alcoholic. The reason is successful acculturation. Latinos who can speak and understand English were already absorbed in the flow of American society according to the author. Being so, the immigrant tends to follow the alcohol intake pattern of the Americans. Without self restraint, this will lead to addiction. The article provided information on the barriers to effective substance abuse treatment. This strength related to the usefulness of the article can be translated into practical considerations of eliminating costly program rejections.
Being presented based from actual surveys using valid sample population, the result creates a perception of reliability. Moreover, the tone of the article is authoritative. This adds to the perceived reliability of the findings. The fact that the author mentioned a more in depth study on alcoholism on Latinas is needed exposed the apparent weakness of the article. This weakness suggests that the result can be only applicable to Latinos. The article should have considered the fact that Latinas were expected to really not as alcoholic as men due to their culture.
This fact should have been mentioned to support the finding of alcohol underutilization among Latinas compared to Latinos. The statement if made could have lessened the weakness of the article. Despite the weakness of the article, the information provided can greatly assist the substance abuse worker. The identified barriers give caution to substance abuse workers that they have to be hurdled successfully to make the program implementation a success. Hurdling successfully the barrier would translate to more efficient program. This will lessen the drain from the American treasury which is taxpayer’s money.
Saving in time, and effort can also be accomplished knowing the pitfalls and accurately identifying what and where they are located. This can be translated to more Latinos being helped thus making them more productive members of the American society. Moreover, in as much as there exist saved time and effort, the savings can be used to extending the substance abuse programs to more Latinos. Most studies on Latinos and substance abuse focus on adults often ignoring adolescents. Even though some studies have looked at youth, few have examined rural Latino youth.
Using focus group data with rural Latino youth, we examine aspects of culture, cultural identity, acculturation, gender norms, and normative expectations of substance use. Overall, the current study identified several malleable possible risk and protective factors associated with substance use for rural Latino adolescents. These findings show the importance of maintaining cultural identity for rural Latino youth. Our findings suggest a need to develop conceptual frameworks that incorporate various aspects of culture and its effect on substance abusing behavior for rural Latino youth.
Sample Essay of Edusson.com