This proposed five-year project, """"""""A Field-Based Treatment Model for Hispanic Cocaine Users,"""""""" focuses on developing theoretically-grounded, culturally-appropriate brief treatment interventions in a community setting. Despite increased risk for cocaine-use problems, evidence suggests that Hispanics are less likely than other groups to benefit from treatment. Evidence also suggests that this effectiveness gap is not attributable to economic factors alone. The proposed project will test the hypothesis that brief field treatment interventions which take account of culturally-informed attitudes, norms, skills, and relationships will differentially affect stage-of-change for giving up cocaine as compared to a no-treatment comparison condition. The study involves three consecutive research activities: Elicitation. A guided interview methodology will be employed to elicit and identify attitudes, norms, skills, and social relationships associated with stage-of-change for cocaine use cessation and long-term abstinence for 45 current intranasal cocaine users and 45 former cocaine users who are Hispanic. Longitudinal Stage-of-Change Survey. Researchers will identify which of the attitudes, norms, skills, and social relationships discovered during elicitation research are most strongly associated with movement along stage-of-change for cocaine use cessation. The survey sample will consist of 176 Hispanic intranasal cocaine users and a comparison group of 176 Anglo intranasal cocaine users. Alternative causal models will be tested, and the model with the best fit to the data will be selected to guide intervention development. Intervention Pilot Study. During this phase, field treatment interventions based on the causal model resulting from analysis of longitudinal survey data will be evaluated. A sample of 166 Hispanics who are current cocaine users will be randomized into two groups. Members of the treatment group will receive a cocaine treatment intervention based on the results of elicitation and survey research. Members of the control group will not receive a treatment intervention. Follow-up will occur at 6 and 12 months. Follow-up interviews will be accompanied by radioimmunoassay of hair samples to confirm self reports of drug use. In the final year of the project, training materials and procedures will be developed to facilitate technology transfer of successful intervention strategies. At least one seminar will be conducted for treatment providers.
| Montoya, Isaac D; Covarrubias, Laura D; Patek, Janeene A et al. (2003) Posttraumatic stress disorder among Hispanic and African-American drug users. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 29:729-41 |
