Evaluation of an Assertive Continuing Care Program for Hispanic Adolescents

Area of Science:

• Addiction research
• Adolescent behavioral health
• Public health interventions

Background:

• Substance abuse poses significant risks to adolescent development.
• Hispanic adolescents face unique cultural and socioeconomic challenges in accessing effective treatment.
• Existing substance abuse programs may not adequately address the specific needs of this demographic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a culturally tailored Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) and Assertive Continuing Care (ACC) program.
• To assess the impact of the A-CRA/ACC program on substance use among Hispanic adolescents at risk.
• To examine the relationship between program duration and substance use reduction.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study analyzing self-reported substance use data from 72 Hispanic adolescents.
• Intervention delivered by the Clinic for Education, Treatment, and Prevention of Addiction (CETPA, Inc.), a culturally sensitive provider.
• Statistical analysis using a mixed-effects zero-inflated negative-binomial model to account for data characteristics.

Main Results:

• Time spent in the A-CRA/ACC program was significantly associated with a reduction in the number of days of substance use (p=.039).
• No significant association was found with the likelihood of complete abstinence (p=.290).
• Participants engaged for one year showed an average 46% decline in reported days of substance use.

Conclusions:

• A culturally tailored and age-appropriate substance abuse program, A-CRA/ACC, effectively reduced alcohol, drug, and illicit substance use days in Hispanic adolescents.
• The A-CRA/ACC model demonstrates success in culturally diverse settings.
• Evidence supports the use of adapted community reinforcement approaches for adolescent substance use disorders.