Integrating Cultural Variables into Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment with Racial/Ethnic Minorities

• Published date: 01 July 2002
• Date: 01 July 2002
• DOI: 10.1177/002204260203200304
• Author: Eduardo Hernández Alarcón,Felipe González Castro
• Subject Matter: Article

© 2002 BY THE JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES

JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES 0022-0426/02/03 783-810

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Felipe González Castro, Ph.D., is professor of clinical psychology in the Department of Psychology,

Arizona State University. Dr. Castro’s research areas include cultural factors in health promotion with

Hispanics and other ethnic/racial minorities; prevention and treatment of substance abuse; and addictive

behaviors: etiology and treatment. Eduardo Hernández-Alarcón, Ph.D. is a special expert in the

Division of State and Community Systems Development with the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.

He currently serves as co-chair of CSAP’s Hispanic/Latino Initiative, co-chair of its Minority Health

Task Force, and one of two CSAP representatives for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

INTEGRATING CULTURAL V ARIABLES INTO DRUG ABUSE

PREVENTION AND TREATMENT WITH RACIAL/ETHNIC

MINORITIES

FELIPE GONZÁLEZ CASTRO, EDUARDO HERNÁNDEZ ALARCÓN

A set of variables, identified as “cultural variables,” is introduced as important

descriptors of the life experiences of people from the major ethnic/racial minority

groups in the United States. It is stated that most contemporary models for prevention

and treatment of substance abuse are “culturally blind” to the effects of these cultural

variables on the risk of substance abuse among racial/ethnic minority people.

Accordingly, a viable strategy for culturally relevant research and program design

is to integrate these cultural variables into extant models to create culturally rich

models for research as well as for the development of prevention and treatment

programs. The use of “model programs” is discussed in regard to the competing

aims of maintaining program fidelity while also making cultural adaptations to these

model programs to make them more culturally relevant. Strategies and

recommendations are presented for integrating cultural variables into prevention

and treatment programs that purport to serve racial/ethnic minority people.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT: ISSUES IN RACIAL/ETHNIC MINORITIES

ROLE OF CULTURE IN PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

In the past, substance abuse prevention and treatment programs have given

limited or no attention to cultural variables as potential determinants of substance

use and/or as integral components of programs for substance abuse prevention and

treatment. Also, in the past, research studies on substance abuse have examined

race and ethnicity, but have done so in a “culturally shallow” manner, typically

CASTRO, ALARCON

784 JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES

conducting comparative studies of how one or more racial/ethnic groups may differ

from a White-majority reference group (Barrera, Castro, & Biglan, 1999). This

reference to cultural factors relates to aspects of culture described as “cultural

constructs” or “cultural variables,” which include specific beliefs, values, norms

and behaviors that capture the core life experiences of racial/ethnic minority people

(Cuellar, Arnold, & Gonzalez, 1995).

Table 1 presents a set of cultural variables that are often mentioned within the

alcohol and drug abuse research literature that examines the lives of the major

racial/ethnic groups in the United States: Hispanics/Latinos, African Americans,

Asian Americans, and American Indians. Cultural variables which relate to

interpersonal relations include: familism (Sabogal, Marin, Otero-Sabogal, & Marin,

1987), individualism-collectivism (Oyserman, Coon, & Kemmelmeier, 2002; Tata,

& Leong, 1994), personalismo, respeto, simpatia (Griffith, Joe, Chatham, &

Simpson, 1998; Marin & Marin, 1990), and tiu lien (loss of face) (Shon & Ja,

1982). Other cultural variables that operate as personal traits include: level of

acculturation (Cuellar, Harris, & Jasso, 1980; Cuellar, Arnold & Gonzalez, 1995;

De la Rosa, Vega, & Radish, 2000; Klonoff & Landrine, 1999; Marin & Gamboa,

1996; Suinn, Rickard-Figueroa, Lew, & Vigil, 1987), Afrocentricity (Baldwin &

Bell, 1985), biculturalism, (La Fromboise, Coleman, & Gerton, 1993), cultural

flex (Ramirez, 1999), enculturation (Wolfe, Yang, Wong, & Atkinson, 2001), ethnic

identity (Bernal & Knight, 1994; Brook, Whiteman, Balka, Win, & Gursen, 1998;

Castro, Sharp, Barrington, Walton & Rawson, 1991; Phinney, 1990), ethnic pride

(Castro, de Anda, Abeita & Morgan-Lopez, 1999; Marsiglia, Kulis, & Hecht, 2001),

ethnic affiliation (Brook, Balka, Brook, Win, & Gursen, 1998) field independence

and field sensitivity (Ramirez, 1999), machismo (Cuellar, Arnold, & Gonzalez,

1995; Fragoso & Kashubeck, 2000), marianismo, (Gil & Vasquez, 1996), modernism

(Ramirez, 1999), spirituality (Brome, Owens, Allen, & Vevaina, 2000; Garrett &

Wilbur, 1999), and traditionalism (Castro & Gutierres, 1995; Ramirez, 1999).

Given that most ethnic minority cultural variables lend special attention to

issues involving relationships within broad family networks, and to propriety in

interpersonal relationships (McGoldrick, & Giordano, 1996), ethnic minority

cultures may be aptly described as “relational cultures” (Oyserman, Coon, &

Kemmelmeier, 2001). Accordingly, several ethnic minority cultural variables have

evolved that refer to specific aspects of interpersonal and intrapersonal relations.

The cultural concepts that examine interpersonal styles that affect the nature and

quality of relationships include: familism, individualism-collectivism, personalismo,

respeto, simpatia, tiu lien (loss of face). Similarly, the cultural variables that examine

interpersonal factors or personal traits that affect social relationships and the person’s

place within the larger society include: level of acculturation, Afrocentricity,