Assessing Substance-Related Disorders in Hispanic Clients

Abstract

Substance abuse is a significant problem among Hispanics. The National Survey on Drug Abuse and Health reveals that 35% of Hispanics 12 years or older have used illicit drugs in their lifetime SAMHSA, and 72% have used alcohol SAMHSA. Despite the great need for services, Hispanics do not generally seek treatment for mental health and substance abuse problems when compared to other ethnic groups in the United States. Among the many barriers contributing to poor treatment participation and low research involvement, difficulty completing assessment instruments written in English has been identified as a significant limiting factor. This likely affects a significant number of Hispanics, given estimates that 55% of the Hispanic adult population in the United States have limited English proficiency. In the following paragraphs, we discuss some of the more relevant issues regarding how culture may affect assessment of substance abuse in Hispanic populations. After discussing the interplay between cultural considerations and assessment, we provide detailed descriptions of the major assessment instruments used in the field of substance abuse, their psychometric properties, and the availability of these instruments in the Spanish language. We also summarize the scarce evidence for the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of these instruments. The aim of this chapter is to provide a tool for clinicians and/or researchers interested in working with Hispanic minorities to identify potential instruments for their clinical or research work, as well as stimulate further epidemiological, clinical, or psychometric studies utilizing Spanish-language instruments for substance abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)