Chapter 10 Article Summary

Racial Differences in Treatment Effects

            Among addiction, there exists many racial, ethnic, and cultural differences. According to Van Wormer and Davis, every addict endures roughly the same progressive stages of addiction, regardless of race, ethnicity and gender (2008). However, it has been demonstrated that differences in recovery do exist among African American men and Caucasian men (Scott & Easton, 2010).

            These two researchers examined racial differences in treatment effect among Caucasian and African American men suffering from substance dependence who are also intimate partner violence (IPV) offenders. According to Scott and Easton, 1 in every 5 couples in the United States experiences intimate partner violence at least once a week (2010). In addition, almost one-half of the people who commit these acts of intimate partner violence also have substance abuse problems (Scott & Easton, 2010). For men who have substance abuse problems, the probability of IPV occurring is highest when under the influence of that substance (Scott & Easton, 2010).

            There are a couple of issues when it comes to finding effective treatment plans for these individuals. The problem arises because it is necessary to treat not only the individual with the substance abuse problem and the IPV, but to also treat the victim of the IPV, and to finally treat both individuals together (Scott & Easton, 2010). These three factors are particularly difficult to address because the men with IPV convictions are often court-appointed to programs that only address the IPV, and not the substance abuse (Scott & Easton, 2010).

            The researchers discovered that on average, African-American offenders spent more time incarcerated for IPV than did their Caucasian counterparts (Scott & Easton, 2010). In addition, the Caucasian participants displayed a decrease in verbal abuse over the treatment period, while the African-American participants did not (Scott & Easton, 2010).

            These findings are consistent with that of Van Wormer and Davis. According to Van Wormer and Davis, African Americans continue to binge drink as they age (2008). This differs from White Americans whose binge drinking declines with age (Van Wormer & Davis, 2008).

            In addition, about 80% of imprisoned female crack cocaine offenders are African American (Van Wormer & Davis, 2008). This is consistent with the work of Scott and Easton in that it is reported that African Americans are more likely to be imprisoned than White Americans.

References

Scott, M. C., & Easton, C. J. (2010). Racial differences in treatment effect among men in a substance abuse and domestic violence program. The american journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 36, 357-362. doi: 10.3109/00952990.2010.501131

Van Wormer, K. & Davis, D. R. (2008). Addiction treatment: A strengths perspective. California: Brooks/Cole