City's Racial Composition Shapes Treatment Center Characteristics and Services

Abstract

We assessed the extent to which a city's racial composition shapes the characteristics of substance abuse treatment centers. We utilized both the 2004 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services, which provides information on treatment center characteristics such as availability of comprehensive substance abuse evaluation, and 2000 Census data on the percentage of African Americans and Latinos in a city. We found that a city's racial composition influences treatment center characteristics and services available, but the pattern is complex in that there are inequalities in treatment for certain types of services but not in others. For instance, cities with high percentages of Latinos and African Americans provide more treatment options, such as employment and domestic violence counseling or programs for gay/lesbian clients. However, minority cities have fewer integrated treatment centers that provide comprehensive assessment for substance abuse and mental health problems. We discuss the implications of these findings for service providers, especially those working with Latino and African American clients, as well as provide avenues for future research.

Remission from Substance Dependence in U.S. Whites, African Americans, and Latinos

“…Of course, members of minority groups will often have less financial resources than those of the majority. Our paper, along with others show that while Blacks may experience longer times to remission, it is due to their relative lack of socio-economic and other resources compared to whites (Jacobson, Robinson, & Bluthenthal, 2007; Vélez et al, (in press)). …”

“…Whites typically drink more alcoholic beverages then minorities, thus, they might remit less than minorities (Arndt, Schultz, Turvey, & Petersen, 2002). However, a second study reports the opposite finding that African Americans and Latinos compared to whites are more likely to live in poor urban contexts with greater drug and alcohol availability and fewer treatment options, making it difficult to remit (Castellani, Wedgeworth, Wootton, & Rugle, 1997; Vélez, Campos, & Arndt, (in press); Walton et al, 2003). Finally, the median age of Latinos in the U.S. (25.8 years) is over 12 years younger than the median age of Whites (38.6 years).(U.S.…”

The Reported Availability of U.S. Domestic Violence Services to Victims Who Vary by Immigration Status, Primary Language, and Disability

“…Do agency or state characteristics have an impact on the reported availability of services? Previous research documents a relationship between state characteristics and existing programs and policies (Baron & Straus, 1989;Barrilleaux & Bernick, 2003;Burr, Mutchler, & Warren, 2005;Douglas & Cunningham, 2008;Linksy & Straus, 1986;Vélez, Campos-Holland, & Arndt, 2008;Zimmerman, 1988Zimmerman, , 1991. Our first article from this study found a relationship between agency and state characteristics and the availability of services for IPV victims (Hines & Douglas, 2011).…”

“…The year 2003 was the year that was closest to when our data was collected. Previous research has demonstrated that state characteristics, including political ideology, predict the provision of services for members of individual states (Baron & Straus, 1989;Barrilleaux & Bernick, 2003;Burr et al, 2005;Douglas & Cunningham, 2008;Linksy & Straus, 1986;Vélez et al, 2008;Zimmerman, 1988Zimmerman, , 1991. State characteristics are an approximate measure of the context in which DV agencies operate.…”

“…Fewer services were available in cities that were more populous (signing services for educational services), states with higher levels of income (transportation services), and regions with fewer Whites (outreach to non-English speakers). Other research has found that racial diversity is associated with expanded social services (Vélez et al, 2008) because the groups that would be impacted by the availability of these services may more likely settle and live in such areas. We are just beginning to understand how social and economic contexts of where DV agencies are located can affect the availability of services.…”