Acculturation and Alcohol Treatment in Ethnic Minority Populations: Assessment Issues and Implications

ABSTRACT The roles of culture and ethnicity are crucial for understanding the relevance of personal and social factors involved in the drinking patterns of individuals. Research has shown that acculturative stress is associated with poorer health outcomes and may be linked to problematic drinking. This article briefly outlines issues including the construct of acculturation, measuring acculturation, and understanding the implications that it has with alcohol use in ethnic minorities. A study is presented that illustrates the association between acculturation and drinking patterns in older White and Hispanic veterans. Greater levels of past drinking were associated with more acculturation into the mainstream U.S. society for the Hispanic veterans. For the White veterans, greater levels of past drinking were associated with greater perceived discrimination and less comfort in mainstream U.S. society. Based on the literature, implications for clinical treatment are presented. Clinicians are called upon to un...