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

Abstract

We investigated remission from any type of substance dependence in Latinos, African Americans, and whites using the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a national sample of community adults. Analyses focused on the 4,520 participants who indicated prior-to-last-year dependence on either alcohol or drugs. Outcome was categorized as current substance dependence or abuse, current use, or abstinence. Whites reported greater likelihood of substance dependence and African Americans and Latinos are just as likely to remit as Whites, once social support and age are controlled. The outcome variable “time to remission” produced a similar pattern of results.

Ethnic Differences in Abstinence Self-Efficacy among Recovering Individuals

“…Other research indicates that European Americans compared to Latinos were more likely to remain abstinent after completing substance abuse treatment [ 11 , 12 ]. Other studies have shown similar outcomes for Latinos and other ethnic groups [ 13 – 16 ]. Finally, research supports different treatment outcomes among Latino subgroups and suggests that a number of individual characteristics may predict treatment outcomes among Latinos [ 17 ].…”

Ethnic-Specific Support Systems as a Method for Sustaining Long-Term Addiction Recovery

“…Although non-Whites experience remission from substance use disorders at rates comparable to Whites (Arndt, Vélez, Segre, & Clayton, 2010), AOD problems within communities of color have been historically portrayed in the mainstream media through a lens of pathology rather than through the perspectives of resilience, resistance, and recovery (White & Sanders, 2008). Pejorative racial stereotypes long embedded within antidrug campaigns in the United States have misrepresented the source, scope, and solutions to AOD-related problems within communities of color (Helmer, 1975;Leland, 1976;Musto, 1973;Neuspiel, 1996).…”