Abstract
Immigrant ethnic groups in the United States are underrepresented in substance abuse treatment. To investigate possible reasons for underrepresentation of Arab Americans, we conducted two qualitative studies. The first study revealed that the process of treatment seeking may discourage Arab Americans not proficient in English, and that treatment-eligibility assessors believed that clients of all demographic groups self-report their ethnicity and race accurately. The second study, which consisted of interviews with Arab American clients, likewise did not support underreporting of ethnicity. The clients reported intense stigmatization and language and cultural barriers to accessing and staying in treatment. Together these results suggest that underrepresentation in treatment is not due to underidentification, and that treatment programs need to be sensitive to linguistic and cultural barriers.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported in part by a grant from Southeast Michigan Community Alliance. The author extends acknowledgements to Christopher Smith for his critical role in supporting this research. In addition, acknowledgements are extended to ACCESS, who played a vital role in the implementation of the study. A debt of gratitude goes to Sheryl P. Kubiak, who gave insightful comments during the course of the study and drafts of the report. Finally, we thank the participants for sharing their time and stories with us.
Editorial Note: The author of this article is also a guest editor of this thematic issue. To avoid conflicts of interest, this manuscript was reviewed separately with a double-blind peer review process coordinated by the journal's managing editor.