Prevention Center of Excellence
Annotated Bibliography:
Substance Abuse Prevention & Cultural Competency
Substance
Abuse Prevention & Cultural Competency available in PDF.
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Compiled by Clare Desrosiers
June 6, 2006
Amodeo, M., Peou, S., Grigg-Saito, D., Berke, H., Pin-Riebe, S., &
Jones, L. K. (2004). Providing culturally specific substance abuse
services in refugee and immigrant communities: Lessons from a Cambodian
treatment demonstration project. Journal of Social Work Practice in the
Addictions, 4(3), 23-46.
In relation to substance abuse prevention, the article cites a
definition of culturally relevant social work practice. It also
summarizes another researcher’s guidelines for culturally competent
practice. These include ensuring that members of the target population
are on the staff and advisory boards, assessing the importance of
ethnicity to clients and families, validating and strengthening ethnic
identity, understanding of how to engage and communicate with bicultural
clients, use of the client’s support systems, awareness of the
association between minority group status and disenfranchisement etc.,
and awareness that cultural factors may not be the primary issue for
clients. Based on the case study presented in the article, the authors
make several recommendations for micro-level substance abuse work with
refugees and immigrant populations.
Castro, F. G., & Garfinkle, J. (2003). Critical issues in the
development of culturally relevant substance abuse treatment for
specific minority groups. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental
Research, 27(8), 1381-1388.
The article provides a definition of cultural competence and presents
the idea of a cultural competence continuum, which is described. The
authors also review the concepts of acculturation, assimilation,
biculturalism, marginalization, separatism, and traditionalism. The
authors recommend incorporation of cultural variables as factors in
research and identify variables that should be considered.
Cervantes, R. C., Kappos, B., Duenas, N., & Arellano, D. (2003).
Culturally focused HIV prevention and substance abuse treatment for
Hispanic women. Addictive Disorders & Their Treatment, 2(3), 69-77.
The authors of this article describe a study of a substance abuse
treatment and HIV prevention intervention that was specifically
developed for a Hispanic population. Findings from the study suggest
that “culturally sensitive staff that promotes a culturally and gender
appropriate programming can lead to changes in psychological and family
functioning, and reductions in drug use".
Christopherson, T. M., & Jordan-Marsh, M. (2004). Culture and risk
taking in adolescents’ behaviors. MCN, 29(2), 100-105.
The article briefly reviews current health and behavioral challenges
facing adolescents and how these vary among those with different
cultural backgrounds. It provides a framework for developing culturally
competent programs.
Corneille, M. A., Ashcraft, A. M., & Begrave, F. Z. (2005). What’s
culture got to do with it? Prevention programs for African American
adolescent girls. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved,
16, 38-47.
The author emphasizes the need for prevention programs to understand the
culture of the individuals they serve and tailor programs in to their
needs in accordance with their cultural background. She describes three
studies of prevention programs conducted by herself and her colleagues
which suggested that "culturally specific prevention interventions can
be effective in increasing resiliency factors and also in promoting
alcohol and drug refusal self-efficacy". The author also provides a
comprehensive definition of cultural competency and how to achieve it.
Crunkilton, D., Paz, J. J., & Boyle, D. P. (2005). Culturally competent
intervention with families of Latino youth at risk for drug abuse.
Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 5(1/2), 113-131.
The article describes the study and study findings of an intervention
with families of Latino youth. Findings provide “preliminary evidence
that a culturally competent approach improved drug knowledge of Latino
parents” p 127.
Harvey, A. R., & Hill, R. B. (2004). Africentric youth and family rites
of passage program: Promoting resilience among at-risk African-American
youths. Social Work, 49(1), 65-74.
The article relates findings of a study of outcomes from a substance
abuse prevention intervention tailored to its target population.
Positive effects were evidenced among the target population after the
intervention occurred, though they were not statistically significant.
Feedback from program participants who later attended focus groups was
that the Africentric characteristic of the program was a contributor to
the program’s success.
Hosley, C. A., Gensheimer, L., & Yang, M. (2003). Building effective
working relationships across culturally and ethnically diverse
communities. Child Welfare, LXXXII(2), 157-168.
In this case study, authors describe the experience of implementing two
SAMHSA model programs among Hmong and Cambodian communities. They make
several recommendations for promoting cross-cultural collaboration.
Paz, J. (2002). Culturally competent substance abuse treatment with
Latinos. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 5(3/4),
123-136.
In this article, the author sets forth a foundation for cultural
competence in regards to work with Latinos. This framework consists of
knowledge, values and skills. Knowledge in this context consists of a
theoretical knowledge base for practice in relation to the culture of
the individuals being served. The author also specified the benchmarks
of institutional cultural competence: “(1) evidence that the agency
recognizes and values cultural diversity, (2) adherence to a mission
statement embracing diversity, (3) hiring of culturally competent staff,
(4) the delivery of well articulated culturally competent services, and
(5) management and the board of directors that represents the
ethnic/racial composition of the community". The author reviews the six
elements of the cultural competence continuum (see p. 133). Finally, the
authors notes that culturally competent services must include several
skills, one of which includes assessment of acculturation.
Unger, J. B., Baezconde-Garbanati, L., Shakib, S., Palmer, P. H., Nezami,
E., & Mora, J. (2004). A cultural psychology approach to “drug abuse”
prevention. Substance Abuse and Misuse, 39(10-12), 1779-1820.
The authors provide a review of studies related to adolescent substance
abuse, culture, and acculturation. The authors report that population
based surveys in the US show there is racial and ethnic variation in
adolescent substance abuse and that there are further variations within
sub-groups of these populations. The authors identify multiple cultural
variables that impact substance use. The authors recommend that both
prevention providers and researchers ensure that the content of
interventions and research is culturally appropriate for the target
population and addresses issue that are important to them. The authors
provide a definition of cultural competence and note that in order to be
culturally competent, providers and researchers must have “a thorough
understanding of the target population, including their language
capabilities, educational level, socioeconomic status, and cultural
beliefs” (p. 1804). In regards to research, the authors recommend
community-based participation in the research process in which cultural
beliefs and values and community needs are taken into account from
development of the research questions, interventions, and
instrumentation, to evaluation of outcomes.
