Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Mutual Help Group Participation for Substance Use Problems

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based upon material published in the Alcohol Research current review and is available as an open-access article. Mutual help groups are a ubiquitous component of the substance abuse treatment system in the United States, showing demonstrated effectiveness as a treatment adjunct; so, it is paramount to understand whether they are as appealing to, and as effective for, racial or ethnic minority groups as they are for Whites. Nonetheless, no known comprehensive reviews have examined whether there are racial/ethnic disparities in mutual-help group participation. Accordingly, this study comprehensively reviewed the U.S. literature on racial/ethnic disparities in mutual-help participation among adults and adolescents with substance use disorder treatment needs. The study identified 19 articles comparing mutual-help participation across specific racial/ethnic minority groups and Whites, including eight national epidemiological studies and 11 treatment/community studies. Most compared Latinx and/or Black adults to White adults, and all but two analyzed 12-step participation, with others examining self-help attendance. Across studies, racial/ethnic comparisons yielded mostly null (N = 17) and mixed (N = 9) effects, though some findings were consistent with a racial/ethnic disparity (N = 6) or minority advantage (N = 3). Findings were weakly suggestive of disparities for Latinx populations (especially immigrants, women, and adolescents) as well as for Black women and adolescents. Overall, data were sparse, inconsistent, and dated, highlighting the need for additional studies in this area. This course on mutual help groups is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. In addition, this course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate, and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop their knowledge of mutual help groups. The course material includes a literature review of racial/ethnic disparities. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing clinical education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article that includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading and others do not. A significant benefit of reading research-based articles for continuing education is they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: Zemore, Gilbert, Pinedo, Tsutsumi, McGeough, Dickerson Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding mutual help groups. Specifically, a professional will: Describe general barriers to help seeking and how some are unique to minorities Identify unique barriers to minority participation in mutual groups Discriminate between the efficacy of help groups for different minority populations Citation: Zemore, S. E., Gilbert, P. A., Pinedo, M., Tsutsumi, S., McGeough, B., and Dickerson, D. L. (2021). Racial/ethnic disparities in mutual-help group participation for substance use problems. Alcohol research: current reviews, 41(1).