Transforming responses: Exploring the treatment of substance-using African American women

Abstract

This article explores how intrapersonal and structural oppression may impact treatment and the recovery process of 23 self-identified African American women with histories of incarceration and substance use. Using a critical consciousness (CC) framework and content-based thematic analysis, researchers systematically coded and extracted themes and patterns from focus group data to evaluate how marginalizing processes—such as race-based discrimination—impact treatment, the therapeutic relationship, and service provision. Results indicate that participants’ health and treatment were negatively impacted by oppressive factors, specifically the oppressive process of silencing. The authors discuss research and practice implications.

Keywords:

• Critical consciousness
• African American
• women
• oppression
• treatment
• silencing

Notes

1 The larger study was a mixed-methods study in which participants first responded to an online survey that collected demographic information and then, on a later date, attended focus groups; however, not all participants who completed the survey elected to attend the focus groups. Thus, there is a discrepancy between the number of participants who completed the survey (N = 33) and the number of participants who attended focus groups (N = 23).

2 All names are fictitious to protect the identity and confidentiality of respondents.

Additional information

Funding

The authors acknowledge the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research for the grant award (P30DA011041) that funded this study.First and second authors were supported as predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows, respectively, in the Behavioral Sciences Training in Drug Abuse Research program sponsored by Public Health Solutions and National Development and Research Institutes with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (5T32 DA007233). The first author was also supported with funding from National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) (3R01MD01629-04S1).