Substance use disorders and co-morbidities among Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders.
Journal Article (Journal Article;Review)
BACKGROUND: Asian Americans (AAs) and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders (NHs/PIs) are the fastest growing segments of the US population. However, their population sizes are small, and thus AAs and NHs/PIs are often aggregated into a single racial/ethnic group or omitted from research and health statistics. The groups' substance use disorders (SUDs) and treatment needs have been under-recognized. METHOD: We examined recent epidemiological data on the extent of alcohol and drug use disorders and the use of treatment services by AAs and NHs/PIs. RESULTS: NHs/PIs on average were less educated and had lower levels of household income than AAs. Considered as a single group, AAs and NHs/PIs showed a low prevalence of substance use and disorders. Analyses of survey data that compared AAs and NHs/PIs revealed higher prevalences of substance use (alcohol, drugs), depression and delinquency among NHs than among AAs. Among treatment-seeking patients in mental healthcare settings, NHs/PIs had higher prevalences of DSM-IV diagnoses than AAs (alcohol/drug, mood, adjustment, childhood-onset disruptive or impulse-control disorders), although co-morbidity was common in both groups. AAs and NHs/PIs with an SUD were unlikely to use treatment, especially treatment for alcohol problems, and treatment use tended to be related to involvement with the criminal justice system. CONCLUSIONS: Although available data are limited by small sample sizes of AAs and NHs/PIs, they demonstrate the need to separate AAs and NHs/PIs in health statistics and increase research into substance use and treatment needs for these fast-growing but understudied population groups.
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Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Wu, L-T; Blazer, DG
Published Date
- February 2015
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 45 / 3
Start / End Page
- 481 - 494
PubMed ID
- 25066115
Pubmed Central ID
- PMC4272661
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1469-8978
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1017/S0033291714001330
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- England