With pleasure, I present to you the contents of the 15(4) issue of the Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 2016. This series of articles provides useful ethnic information for consideration and inclusion in prevention, harm reduction, and treatment interventions.
Forden and Carillo assessed smoking behavior, knowledge of smoking-related harms, and attitudes toward the campus smoking policy at an Egyptian university. Smoking status influenced beliefs around smoking harms and attitudes toward the campus policy, with smokers more knowledgeable about smoking policy and differing in their preferences for smoking policy enforcement strategies. Nonsmokers had stronger beliefs around smoking harms and indicated stronger support for regulations. This study presents useful information with regard to targeted smoking interventions within the Egyptian university setting.
Aleksandra Snowden in her study examined the role that race and ethnicity and social disorganization play in alcohol availability in Wisconsin, and reported that the effects of race/ethnicity on alcohol availability were neither unrelated nor negatively related to alcohol outlet availability once neighborhood social disorganization levels were taken into account. Social disorganization was positively and significantly associated with all alcohol types. This study underscores how neighborhood characteristics contribute to availability of alcohol and should be included in any intervention design.
Park and colleagues present a qualitative study on the lives of Korean Children of Alcoholics (COAs) and provide thematic information that can be used to inform the design of culturally appropriate interventions and care planning.
Pass and colleagues undertook a qualitative investigation of how substance use affects sexual decision making of emerging adult Black men and substance users in terms of their sexual attitudes, perceptions, behaviors, and substance use patterns and practices. Their findings emphasize the importance of considering structural and sociocultural factors when framing research interventions investigating the interplay between substance use, sexual decision making, and Black men.
A third qualitative study in this issue, by Loza and colleagues, investigated perceived gender differences in methamphetamine use among women who use this substance on the Mexico-U.S. border. Preferences for using powder or pills as opposed to injecting or snorting methamphetamine were reported, along with access to the substance initiation by men they trusted. This study provides useful recommendations for the development of prevention and treatment interventions using social networks for women on the Mexico-U.S. border.
Isralowitz and colleagues illustrate in their article the importance of considering and evaluating addiction through quality of life. Factors underpinning quality of life regardless of country of origin in this study (Isreali and former Soviet Union drug users) include having a spouse or partner and fewer chronic illnesses. In their sample, Israeli-born drug users reported better quality of life based on their psychological health and environment domain responses with no difference found for the physical health and social relationship domains of the Israeli and former Soviet Union origin males. This study points to the need to incorporate quality of life and ethnic factors in opiate-based treatment modalities.
Last, Ruglass and colleagues conducted a secondary analysis of data on the association between race and adherence to treatment for full and subthreshold posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorders. With the exception of education, no statistically significant racial differences in baseline demographic and psychiatric characteristics were evident. No differences were reported between African Americans and Caucasians in adherence to combination treatments for PTSD and A/SUD. The study recommends further research to investigate differential responses between groups.