Culturally Adapted Substance Use Interventions for Latino Adolescents

Abstract

To examine the characteristics and effects of culturally adapted substance use interventions with Latino adolescents on substance use outcomes. Methods: Systematic review and meta-analytic methods were used to synthesize effects across studies on substance use outcomes at posttest and follow-up time points. Results: Ten studies comprising 12,546 Latino adolescents met eligibility criteria. Meta-analytic results suggest positive, yet small effects on substance use outcomes at posttest and slightly larger effects at follow-up. A moderate amount of heterogeneity was observed; however, no variables tested explained the variance. The risk of bias assessment revealed that most studies were at high risk for performance and selection bias. Conclusions: Culturally adapted substance use interventions with Latino adolescents may be slightly more effective than other active interventions. We also uncovered important gaps and deficiencies in this body of research, including the need to examine potential secondary benefits of culturally adapted interventions.

The Role of Culture of Origin on the Effectiveness of a Parents-Involved Intervention to Prevent Substance Use Among Latino Middle School Youth: Results of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Overall, the results provide some evidence supporting the long-term effectiveness of the intervention involving only parents. This is in line with the major finding of the recent metaanalysis research focusing on interventions aiming to reduce substance use of Latino adolescents (Robles, Maynard, Salas-Wright, & Todic 2016). Similar to our results, the meta-analysis using the 10 selected intervention studies show that the intervention effects were, on average, small or clinically insignificant at the end of the intervention while the effects were also significant but lager at the follow-up months after the implementation of the intervention.…”

Reframing implementation science to address inequities in healthcare delivery

“…Third, while much has been written about adaptations to interventions and its promise to decrease healthcare inequities [78][79][80], less is known about how adaptations can facilitate the implementation of EBIs in historically underserved populations. In our broader conceptualization, adaptation can be considered an implementation strategy because it addresses the fundamental interplay between the EBI (the what), the process of implementation (the how), and the context of practice (the where).…”

The Alcohol and Other Drugs Education Program for Social Work Faculty: A Model for Immersion Training

“…State-of-the-art neurobiologic and intervention research are critical to advancing the treatment of AOD use disorders, but we also know—from high-quality, scientific research and our own experience as practitioners—that factors such as community and social context, client access to services, and racial/ethnic disparities cannot be ignored in understanding AOD (Guerrero, Warsh, Khackikian, Amaro, & Vega, 2013; Sprague Martinez et al, 2018). Along these lines, we see the importance of carefully adapting AOD treatment approaches to the cultural and social contexts of those in need (Marsiglia & Booth, 2015; Robles, Maynard, Salas-Wright, & Todic, 2016).…”