No Place Like Home: Examining a Bilingual-Bicultural, Self-Run Substance Abuse Recovery Home for Latinos

Latinos often do not seek substance abuse services, and this might be correlated to the lack of culturally-modified substance abuse treatment approaches. Oxford House is the largest self-help residential recovery program in the U.S., yet few Latinos are among their current residents. In an effort to change this, bilingual-bicultural recovery homes were recently developed for Latinos. This article describes the process in opening these bilingual-bicultural houses and how sociocultural factors such as the family, simpatía, and gender roles impacted the living environment of these houses. In addition, language is highlighted as a key factor to the comfort and success of Latinos living in Oxford Houses. Based on these experiences, the article addresses several obstacles/barriers that impacted this process and possible feasible solutions to these challenges. One challenge is the Latino family system. While this may provide a supportive, cost-effective option for some; it can also perpetuate a cycle of codependence and substance abuse

Ethnic Differences in Abstinence Self-Efficacy among Recovering Individuals

According to the 2010 Census, Latinos comprise 16.3% of the total U.S. population. This group continues to grow and by the year 2050, Latinos are expected make up 25% of the total U.S. population [1]. National surveys indicate that this group engages in substance use behavior at similar rates to the national&nbsp; average [2], but have higher rates of substance related problems compared to other groups [3]. Currentresearch indicates that Latinos underutilize substance abuse treatment [4-6], but the reasons for this groups’ treatment underutilization are not well-understood. Socio-demographic characteristics are associated with substance abuse treatment utilization among Latinos. In particular, individuals who are younger, have lower incomes and who have no health insurance are least likely to use mental health and substance use services [7]. English speaking and U.S. born Latinos are more likely to utilize substance abuse treatment compared to their immigrant and Spanish-speaking counterparts [8,9].Pubmed link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28840200 </p