Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Substance abuse in African Americans: in search of a culturally competent research agenda.

Substance abuse in African Americans: in search of a culturally competent research agenda. The Healthy People 2010 guidelines identify substance abuse as amajor public health problem in need of effective interventions fordiverse populations including racial and ethnic minorities (UnitedStates Department of Health and Human Services United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS),n.pr a cabinet-level government organization comprising 12 agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [USDHHS USDHHS,n.pr See United States Department of Health and Human Services. ], 2000). However,the literature with regard to substance abuse in the African American African AmericanMulticulture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.See Race. community is rather scant (Bass & Kane-Williams, 1993; Dent,Sussman, Ellickson, Brown, & Richardson, 1996). Further compoundingthis problem is the way that African Americans are classified in ourcountry, which does not adequately capture the diversity within thisgroup (Sellers, Smith, Shelton, Rowley, & Chavous, 1998). At leastfour different groups with differing sets of needs, cultures,socio-economic status, self concept, and substance abuse patterns areimbibed in this single categorization. The first subgroup sub��group?n.1. A distinct group within a group; a subdivision of a group.2. A subordinate group.3. Mathematics A group that is a subset of a group.tr.v. consists ofthe blacks that have been living in the country for three or fourgenerations or longer. The second subgroup is comprised of individualsthat have migrated from the Caribbean countries. The third subgroup ismade up of individuals who are first generation immigrants The term First generation immigrant may be used to describe either of two[1] [2] classes of people: An immigrant to a country, possibly with the caveat that they must be naturalized to receive this title. from Africa,which too has a lot of diversity. The final subgroup consists ofmultiracial mul��ti��ra��cial?adj.1. Made up of, involving, or acting on behalf of various races: a multiracial society.2. Having ancestors of several or various races. individuals, many of whom are often misclassified as AfricanAmericans. Most of the studies done on blacks have involved a comparison ofAmerican and immigrant blacks and have failed to focus on all possiblegroups of immigrant blacks (Dodoo, 1997). Dodoo (1997) also examinesthat even though there has been some focus on Caribbean blacks, otherblacks--most importantly the Africans--are conspicuously missing fromthe literature. Hence, the first need in substance abuse literature isto correctly identify the subgroups inherent in the term "AfricanAmerican." During the past decade, some concern has been raised regarding theadverse outcomes experienced by some African American youth due tosubstance use and abuse. Although African American youth consume fewerdrugs than white youth, they are more likely to experience socialproblems as a result of their use (Scheier & Botvin, 1998). Researchinto modifiable constructs that can prevent this from happening needs tobe undertaken. In exploring the role of personal and racial identity ondrug attitudes among African American males, Townsend and Belgrave(2000) found that earlier research suggested that alcohol and druginitiation began early in this ethnic group. More research is needed incomprehending factors for alcohol and drug initiation that are unique tothis racial group. In studies exploring the ethnic disparities in the unmet needs foralcoholism, drug abuse and mental health care a greater unmet need foralcoholism and drug abuse treatment and mental health care among AfricanAmerican and Hispanics relative to whites has been well documented(Wells, Klap, Koike, & Sherbourne, 2001). It is noteworthy thatwhites are more likely than African Americans or Hispanics to usealcohol, smoke or consume illicit drugs illicit drugStreet drug, see there (USDHHS, 2000). Treatment gapfor illicit drug use and treatment gap for problem alcohol use are thetwin objectives of Healthy People 2010 that relate directly to thissignificant concern for ethnic disparities and their unmet needs and aimto reduce the same. Presently, a major limitation of the prevention literature has beenthe paucity pau��ci��ty?n.1. Smallness of number; fewness.2. Scarcity; dearth: a paucity of natural resources. of research that examines the extent to which substance userisk factors identified in studies of white adolescents generalize generalize/gen��er��al��ize/ (-iz)1. to spread throughout the body, as when local disease becomes systemic.2. to form a general principle; to reason inductively. toAfrican American youth. To circumvent cir��cum��vent?tr.v. cir��cum��vent��ed, cir��cum��vent��ing, cir��cum��vents1. To surround (an enemy, for example); enclose or entrap.2. To go around; bypass: circumvented the city. this absence of information on theracial differences in risk factor exposure and vulnerability, currentpreventive interventions are based on two main assumptions that 1) therisk factors for African American and white adolescents' substanceuse are identical; and 2) that African American and white adolescentsare equally exposed and equally vulnerable to these risk factors. It has been reported that African Americans differ significantly intheir exposure to more than half of the 55 risk factors examined.Similarly, nearly one third of the 165 tests for race differences invulnerability were highly significant (Wallace & Muroff, 2002).Based upon the results of this study it is clear that additionaltheoretically and empirically rigorous race-specific research is neededto better understand the etiology of substance use among AfricanAmerican adolescents. Further research is also needed to identify thoserisk factors that are most salient for African American adolescents andmost amenable to change through well designed, and culturally tailoredpreventive interventions. Research studies investigating the role of cultural factors onalcohol and other drug (AOD See HD DVD. ) use have found significant relationshipsbetween the two. A recent study conducted to examine the effects of analcohol and other drug use (AOD) intervention with minority juvenileoffenders, cultural factors (discrimination, acculturation acculturation,culture changes resulting from contact among various societies over time. Contact may have distinct results, such as the borrowing of certain traits by one culture from another, or the relative fusion of separate cultures. , ethnic prideand cultural mistrust) were found to be associated with pre-interventionlevels of alcohol and marijuana use (Gil, Wagner, & Tubman, 2004). In summary, it would be advisable to design all future researchstudies exploring substance abuse in the African American populationkeeping in mind the vital role of cultural factors on the same. Further,exploring the cultural dimensions Cultural dimensions are the mostly psychological dimensions, or value constructs, which can be used to describe a specific culture. These are often used in Intercultural communication-/Cross-cultural communication-based research.See also: Edward T. for the sub groups within the"African American" community and analyzing substance abusevis-a-vis the defining self concept of any African American group shouldbe other important considerations for all future research work in thisrealm. The need of the hour is to actually replicate most of theprevious research done on white populations with African Americansubgroups, to revalidate re��val��i��date?tr.v. re��val��i��dat��ed, re��val��i��dat��ing, re��val��i��datesTo declare valid again.re��val the assumed predictors for substance abuse inthe "African American" population. This step can provide themuch needed groundwork for meaningful research work. Finally, it isrecommended that the existential framework of policies be renovated andoverhauled mainly with a view to improve access to and quality ofalcoholism, drug abuse, and mental health treatment across AfricanAmerican subpopulations. References Bass, L. E., & Kane-Williams, E. (1993). Stereotype or reality:Another look at alcohol and drug use among African American children.Public Health Reports, 108, 78-84. Dent, C., Sussman, S., Ellickson, R, Brown, R, & Richardson, J.(1996). Is current drug abuse prevention programming generalizable gen��er��al��ize?v. gen��er��al��ized, gen��er��al��iz��ing, gen��er��al��iz��esv.tr.1. a. To reduce to a general form, class, or law.b. To render indefinite or unspecific.2. across ethnic groups. American Behavioral Scientist, 39(7), 911-918. Dodoo, F. N. A. (1997). Assimilation differences among Africans inAmerica. Social Forces, 76(2), 527-546. Gil, A., Wagner, E., & Tubman, J. (2004). Culturally sensitivesubstance abuse intervention for Hispanic and African Americanadolescents: Empirical examples from the Alcohol Treatment TargetingAdolescents in Need (ATTAIN) Project. Addiction (Abingdon, England),99(Suppl. 2), 140-150. Scheier, L. M., & Botwin, G. J. (1998). Relations of socialskills, personal competence, and adolescent alcohol use: A developmentalexploratory study. Journal of Early Adolescence, 18, 77-114. Sellers, R., Smith, M., Shelton, J., Rowley, S., & Chavous, T.(1998). Multidimensional mul��ti��di��men��sion��al?adj.Of, relating to, or having several dimensions.multi��di��men model of racial identity: A reconceptualizationof African American racial identity. Personality and Social PsychologyReview Personality and Social Psychology Review is a journal published by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP). It publishes review and meta analytic articles on subjects like social cognition, attitudes, group processes, social influence, intergroup relations, self , 2(1), 18-39. Townsend, T. G., & Belgrave, E Z. (2000). The impact ofpersonal identity and racial identity on drug attitudes and use amongAfrican American children. Challenge, 26, 421-436. United States Department of Health and Human Services. [USDHHS].(2000). Healthy People 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2000, from http://www.health.gov/healthypeople Wallace, J., & Muroff, J. R. (2002). Preventing substance abuseamong African American children and youth: Race differences in riskfactor exposure and vulnerability. The Journal of Primary Prevention,22(3), 235. Wells, K., Klap, R., Koike, A., & Sherbourne, C. (2001). Ethnicdisparities in unmet need for alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental healthcare. American Journal of Psychiatry The American Journal of Psychiatry (AJP) is the most widely read psychiatric journal in the world. It covers topics on biological psychiatry, treatment innovations, forensic, ethical, economic, and social issues. , 158(12), 2027-2032. Manoj Sharma, MBBS MBBS, MBChB n abbr (BRIT) (= Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery) → t��tulo universitarioMBBS, MBChB n abbr (Brit) (= Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery) → , CHES, Ph.D. & Ashutosh Atri, MBBS, M.Ed.(candidate) Editor, Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati is a coeducational public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ranked as one of America’s top 25 public research universities and in the top 50 of all American research universities,[2] 526 Teachers College PO Box 210002 Cincinnati, OH 45221-0002

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