Several areas of inquiry are important to all racial/ethnic groups, such as those focusing on psychological risk factors and socioeconomic status. Others, given the cultural and historical diversity of these groups are specific, for example, developing a better understanding of the influence of historical trauma and racism among American Indians/Alaska Natives and Blacks. Chea and colleagues (2008) analyzed data on any lifetime DSM-IV AUD from the 2002–2003 NLAAS and found that prevalence rates varied widely across national groups. However, this “other” Asian American category included respondents representing 17 different national groups, with widely varying cultures and languages. Unfortunately, these NLAAS data are more than 10 years old and to our knowledge, no more recent data are available. Further research on drinking and AUD among Asian Americans is clearly needed to identify groups at greatest risk for culturally and linguistically appropriate targeted prevention and intervention efforts.
- The TPB posits that intention is the closest antecedent of a given behavior, and intention to engage in that behavior (here, treatment seeking) is predicted or influenced by an individual’s attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control towards the behavior.
- The third most common drug at admission was marijuana/hashish for Whites and Hispanics, cocaine for Blacks, and methamphetamine/amphetamines for American Indians/Alaska Natives and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders.
- Among American Indians/Alaska Natives, both opiates and marijuana/hashish were the second most common drug.
- Traditional Puerto Rican culture has less stigma surrounding alcohol, and it is more readily available.
- Among people who needed substance use treatment, there were no statistically significant differences by race or ethnicity in the percentages who actually received treatment, ranging from 18.9% of Black Americans to 25.3% of Hispanic Americans.
Marijuana/hashish was also the second most common drug among Blacks and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders. The third most common drug at admission was marijuana/hashish for Whites and Hispanics, cocaine for Blacks, and methamphetamine/amphetamines for American Indians/Alaska Natives and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders. There exists an expansive literature on the relationship between acculturation to the U.S. and behavioral and health outcomes. Acculturation refers to how immigrants adopt and adapt to the values, traditions, behaviors, and language of the new culture following their entry and settlement to the host country (Berry, 2005).
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Specialty substance abuse treatment services have been found to be effective regardless of race/ethnicity. Understanding why Latinos use specialty treatment at low rates is key to reducing existing racial/ethnic disparities related to substance abuse. This study identified several malleable barriers that interventions can target to increase Latinos’ utilization of treatment. These barriers may also be key to explaining Latino-White disparities in treatment utilization.
- Researchers found that both groups demonstrated reductions in substance use and high treatment completion rates.
- Compared to white Americans, these differences in access to treatment, and health outcomes, vary among racial and ethnic groups.
- Another strategy may include providing services via the web to decrease fears of being seen in treatment.
- Additionally, individuals from lower-income neighbourhoods may have less access to alcohol counselling resources, leading to higher consumption rates.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 9.9% — or 3.1 million — of Hispanics may need treatment (compared to 9.2% of U.S. residents overall). Despite that, Hispanics are less likely to enter rehab, and about 94% felt that they did not need help. Because they have been more embraced into American life, Cuban Americans have more open doors toward recovery options as well as insurance to cover all or some of their treatment costs.
This disparity in treatment within the Hispanic community can be attributed to a lack of culturally sensitive treatment programs. One limitation of this study is the cross-sectional hispanic alcoholism and rehab rates design which does not allow for the exploration of the directionality of the associations among SES, acculturation, gender, and alcohol use. Additionally, this study is limited to four major metropolitan cities in the United States and does not include rural Hispanics/Latinos. One of the strengths of the current study is the probability-based sampling which allows for the estimation of prevalence in the target population in the four communities (Bronx, Chicago, Miami, and San Diego).
Hispanic women are more likely to abstain from alcohol than white or Black women
Furthermore, socioeconomic status (SES) interacts with other factors such as race and ethnicity to influence alcohol-related outcomes. For example, in states with greater between-race income inequality, African Americans and Latinos/Hispanics are at greater risk for negative alcohol-related consequences. Additionally, women affected by economic loss showed increased alcohol consumption, while men showed increased intoxication and alcohol dependence.
Hispanics And Alcohol: What’s The Truth?
Heavy drinking was defined as the consumption of 5+ drinks on the same occasion on 5+ days in the past month (SAMSHA 2015a). The 2014 NSDUH (Table 1) showed that rates of previous 30-day binge and heavy drinking were highest among American Indian/Alaska Natives and lowest among Asian Americans (SAMSHA, 2015a). Utilizing data from the 2001–2002 Wave 1 NESARC and the 2012–2013 NESARC-III, Dawson et al. (2015) reported increases in average daily ethanol intake over the decade across racial/ethnic groups (Table 1). Similar to the NSDUH findings in Table 1, in 2001–2002 and 2012–2013, American Indians had the highest average daily intake, while Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders had the lowest (Dawson et al., 2015).
L.A. Launches $1M Loan Program to Boost Small Business Recovery
In one study, Feaster and colleagues (2010) reported measurement invariance across racial/ethnic group (e.g., across Hispanic, Black, or White families) for baseline assessments related to family functioning and adolescent problem behaviors. Korte et al. (2011a) completed a review of substance abuse outcome measures used in CTN studies including the use of urine drug screens (UDS), self-report, and corrected self-report measures. While most forms of substance abuse outcome measures were highly correlated, some measures statistically advantaged non-Hispanic White women, Black women, and Hispanic men which could lead to erroneous conclusions concerning the efficacy of an intervention with these groups. First, and importantly, the NESARC studies failed to provide data that differentiated between Asian Americans and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders. This is problematic because significant differences in drinking in relation to tribe and geographic region have been identified (Whitesell et al., 2012; O’Connell et al., 2005, Beals et al., 2005, Beals et al., 2003; Koss et al., 2003).
Addiction Resource aims to provide only the most current, accurate information in regards to addiction and addiction treatment, which means we only reference the most credible sources available. Having access to a full continuum of care, including outpatient support, can be very important for supporting people on their recovery journeys. Addiction treatment centers must also take concrete steps to create treatment environments that are inclusive, culturally competent, and accessible to communities of color. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 4.1% of Pacific Islanders reported psychological distress in the previous 30 days compared to 1.5% of Chinese Americans and 1.1% of Japanese Americans. Pacific Islanders in the U.S. also report a higher instance of mental illness than other racial groups, including Asian Americans. Black Americans are more likely than other racial groups to be referred to inpatient addiction treatment through criminal justice settings.
Puerto Rican men and women are the heaviest drinkers among Hispanic Americans
At Recovery Guide, our mission is to connect as many individuals struggling with mental health and substance abuse disorders to reputable treatment facilities. While this discussion provides insights into alcohol consumption patterns among Hispanic people, including women, a definitive conclusion about their abstention rates relative to white or Black women cannot be drawn based on the available information. Latinos are less likely to obtain treatment for alcohol problems than non-Hispanic men, and heavy-drinking Latinos who received a brief motivational intervention (BMI) were more likely to reduce their alcohol consumption. While the rates of substance abuse among Hispanic Americans are similar to those of the general US population, there are some slight differences.
Qualitative Findings
The rate for Puerto Ricans was 7%, followed by South/Central Americans (6%), Puerto Ricans (4%), and Cuban Americans (3%; Jetelina et al., 2016). Among women, Puerto Ricans drank more, binged (4+ drinks within a 2-hour period) more frequently, and had a higher prevalence of past 12-month DSM-IV alcohol dependence than women of other national groups (Caetano et al.,2009; Ramisetty-Mikler et al., 2010). A limitation of HABLAS is that data were collected in five metropolitan areas of the U.S., thus rural Hispanic populations were not represented. Two high-risk consumption patterns that contribute to alcohol-related problems include binge and heavy drinking (Naimi et al., 2003; Rehm et al., 2003).
Health research in the United States shows that Black, Hispanic, Latinx, Native American, Indigenous, and Asian Americans generally have different levels of access to addiction treatment services. Racial health disparities are a significant barrier to addiction treatment for communities of color in the United States. Identifying how these disparities show up in addiction treatment settings, and how to address them, is a critical goal.
Focusing data collection with this group in large Southwestern cities and some carefully selected rural areas can answer research questions with generalizability and can provide important results for local public health officials. Such a strategy can be similarly applied to research on other Hispanic and Asian national groups, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, and Alaskan Natives. Two interrelated frameworks serve to explain the relationship between minority status in the U.S. and alcohol-related behaviors. One is a framework referring to social disadvantage, encompassing both racial discrimination and poverty (Mulia et al., 2008).
