For this journal article review I used an article titled "Mexican/Mexican American Adolescents and keepin' it REAL: An Evidence-Based Substance Use Prevention Program." The main point of this article was to address the process that social workers go through in order to develop prevention models for youth populations. Federal, state, county, and municipal levels require that prevention curriculums be chosen from pre-approved evidence based approaches, but it is not always the case that specific settings have set programs. And so this article goes into the steps that social workers took in order to test an evidence-based practice with the Mexican and Mexican American adolescent population. The study consisted of 3,402 students of Mexican heritage at 35 different Arizona schools. There were also 11 control sites involved in the study. The study was conducted by performing pre and post questionnaires completed by the students at the beginning and the end of the school year. The test were split up into two groups of Latino and multicultural versions. Throughout the school year the students participated in prevention programs that were administered during the school day. At the end of the study, from the results of the pre and post questionnaires, it was determined that those from the Latino version reported less marijuana, alcohol, and substance abuse then those in the control group. The study also determined that those in the Latino version had higher confidence in staying away from substance use, as well as stronger intentions to stay away from drugs. It was found that those in the multicultural version reported less substance use as well. Even though the two versions, when compared with control groups, had a lower use of substances, there were no significant differences when the results were compared with a non-Latino version. This article teaches the reader that prevention programs created specifically for those with a mexican heritage are very effective. There are not many preventions developed specifically for this population and so this article shows that there would be a benefit from creating more prevention programs. Although the study was very successful in its finding it is important for more research to be conducted.
This article applies to concepts developed in Chapter 10: Racial, Ethnic, And Cultural Issues, from the book Addiction Treatment. Within the chapter it discussed how there is a high substance use rate within the mexican heritage and so this article describes how it is important to target this specific population. Due to the fact that education levels have historically been low for this population it is important to work on educating the youth about the effects of drugs and alcohol so that they can stay away from the substances before they follow in the same path of many of those before them. The content in both the article and the book show it is important to focus on specific prevention programs for different heritages because of the differences in cultures. By creating specific prevention programs, professionals can better apply the information to concepts that are meaningful and hit home with this population of youth.
References
Kulis, S., Marsiglia, F. F., Elek, E., Dustman, P., Wagstaff, D. A., & Hecht, M. L. (2005). Mexican/Mexican american adolescents and keepin' it real: An evidence-based substance use prevention program. Children & Schools, 27(3), 133-145.
Wormer, K. S. V., & Davis, D. R. (2009). Addiction treatment, a strengths perspective. (2nd ed.). Brooks/Cole Pub Co.
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