Latino Americans with alcohol use disorder are less likely to attend treatment than White Americans. To inform strategies that address this disparity, this study examined whether beliefs that would interfere with getting specialty care for alcohol use disorder were more common in Latino compared to White individuals.
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Latino Americans (i.e., those in the US of Latin American descent, a.k.a. “Hispanic Americans”) are more negatively impacted by alcohol than White Americans. Research suggests that Latino Americans drink more alcohol, engage in more heavy alcohol use, and experience more negative social consequences due to alcohol (e.g., problems with family) than White Americans. In addition, Latino Americans with alcohol use disorders are less likely to receive specialty alcohol treatment (i.e., in/out-patient services or rehabilitation) than White Americans. It is important to point out that these differences are not solely the result of differences in socio-economic factors (e.g., lower income as a marker for constrained treatment access) suggesting that something specific to the experience of Latino Americans may be driving these disparities.
To date, research on the reasons why Latino Americans are less likely to receive specialty alcohol use disorder treatment has been mixed. Surveys suggest that logistical barriers (e.g., difficulties finding treatment, or obtaining childcare) may be one reason why Latino Americans are less likely to seek out treatment compared to White Americans. However, other research contradicts these findings. The reasons for disparities in treatment utilization are made more unclear by evidence that other issues may contribute to observed treatment disparities. Qualitative research, for example, suggests that low perceived treatment need (e.g., not believing treatment was necessary), low perceived treatment efficacy (e.g., not believing treatment would be helpful), cultural barriers (e.g., perceptions that treatment providers lack familiarity with Latino culture), and incongruent recovery goals (e.g., individual goals of reducing but not abstaining from alcohol) were all reasons cited by Latino participants for not pursuing alcohol treatment. In addition, Latino Americans described how stigma towards substance use treatment (e.g., concerns of peer/family judgment due to pursuing treatment) deterred them from seeking care.
There is also evidence suggesting that sex and gender roles may impact substance use and subsequent treatment among Latino Americans. Hispanic women (Latinas) are less likely than Hispanic men (Latinos) to seek alcohol treatment and experience more stigma because of their alcohol use. Despite these documented disparities, research on sex differences in specialty alcohol use treatment within Latino American populations has been lacking. The work that has been done is also inconsistent – while one study found that Latinas were more likely to perceive treatment as ineffective than other sub-groups, other work has not corroborated this finding.
It is important to further investigate sex differences in barriers to alcohol treatment among Latino/as to better understand how to reach these populations. To inform strategies that address potential treatment seeking disparities for Latino Americans with alcohol use disorder, this study investigated differences in beliefs about treatment between Latino and White Americans by gender recruited from a national sample of US adults.
This study was a quantitative cross-sectional descriptive survey in a nationally representative sample of White and Latino US adults. The primary goal of this research was to determine the unique barriers to specialty alcohol use disorder treatment endorsed by Latino Americans using a validated survey measure. The study also examined how endorsement of barriers varied across participants’ birth sex (i.e., males and females). Descriptive statistics and multivariable models were used to characterize the outcome of endorsed treatment barriers.
The primary outcomes of the present study were the assessment of perceived barriers to specialty alcohol use disorder treatment in Latino vs. White individuals on the Barriers to Specialty Alcohol Treatment Scale. The Barriers to Specialty Alcohol Treatment Scale is a 36-item survey measure that was designed to capture a wide array of barriers to specialty alcohol treatment not assessed by previous instruments. This measure was informed by previous quantitative and qualitative research to assess barriers especially relevant to Latino Americans. See Graphic below for example items.
Respondents indicate via a 5-point Likert scale ranging from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree the degree to which each barrier to treatment personally impacted them. The scale consists of items across 7 domains including low problem recognition (e.g., “I didn’t feel I had a drinking problem”), incongruent recovery goals (e.g., “I wanted to reduce my drinking but not stop completely”), low perceived treatment efficacy (e.g., “I didn’t think treatment would be helpful for me because alcohol treatment is not effective”), cultural concerns (e.g., “Attending an alcohol treatment is something that is not accepted in my culture”), immigration-related concerns (e.g., “I was afraid that using treatment would have negative consequences for the immigration status of someone in my family, like my parents or children”), perceived lack of social support (e.g., “I was afraid of being rejected going to treatment”), and logistical barriers to treatment (“My health insurance didn’t cover alcohol treatment”).
The present study utilized a pre-existing nationally representative web panel with ~2 million members. For the current study, randomly selected panel members were invited to complete a brief screener to determine their eligibility to participate. Eligible participants were: (1) adults (i.e., 18+ years of age), who (2) identified as White or of Latino racial/ethnic descent, and (3) met diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder via criteria outlined in the DSM-5 within the past 5 years. Recruitment minimums were used to ensure an equal proportion of participants across ethnicity and sex.
The study sample included 1200 participants evenly distributed across sex and ethnicity (i.e., the sample included 300 Latinos, 300 Latinas, 300 White males and 300 White females). The study did not use weights to provide unbiased estimates of US adults as is typical for representative samples; therefore, the current findings should not be considered representative of all US adults, even though participants were randomly selected from a larger representative sample. Participants in the sample were on average 34 years old. Most participants (60%) did not have a college degree, were employed (75%), and had an annual income of ≥$50,000 (55%). Most participants (82%) reported having health insurance. Most of the participants (88%) were born in the US, however, more Latino Americans reported being born outside the US compared to White Americans (80% vs. 97% respectively). On average, participants reported 4 alcohol use disorder symptoms consistent with moderate alcohol use disorder. However, most participants (71%) did not report receiving any specialty alcohol use disorder treatment in the past 5 years.
Latino Americans had higher levels of perceived barriers to treatment than White Americans
Latino Americans were more likely to endorse 22 out of 36 barriers to specialty alcohol treatment. These included logistical, cultural, and social support-related barriers to care. In contrast, White individuals did not have any barriers to treatment with which they agreed more than Latino individuals.
Adjusting for whether someone was foreign or US born, gender, age, household income, health insurance status, and treatment use in the past 5 years to isolate the independent associations between barriers and Latino vs. White ethnicity, 9 barriers had higher levels among Latinos. These included beliefs that treatment was not effective, discomfort communicating in English, concerns that treatment would impact participants’ immigration status, and beliefs that providers were from a different culture (e.g., providers would not understand the participant’s cultural background). For every 1 point in the direction of higher levels of the perceived barrier (e.g., agree vs. neutral or strongly agree vs. agree), participants were 25-50% more likely to identify as Latino than White.
No differences in specialty treatment barriers were found by sex
When the authors compared rates of specialty treatment barrier endorsement, they found that there were no differences between Latinos and Latinas.
Findings showed that Latino Americans with alcohol use disorders may face unique barriers to specialty alcohol treatment compared to White Americans. As might be expected given their unique cultural experiences, Latino Americans were more likely to report that concerns about cultural differences between themselves and their providers, discomfort communicating in English, and the potential impact treatment may have on themselves or their loved ones’ immigration status than White Americans. In addition, however, they also endorsed higher levels not thinking treatment will work because it is ineffective. Taken together, these results may indicate that Latino Americans with alcohol use disorders face unique challenges to specialty alcohol care.
The present results suggest that tailoring specialty alcohol treatment programs to better reflect the needs/experiences of Latino Americans may increase Latino Americans’ treatment seeking. Given that Latino American participants unilaterally cited a perceived cultural mismatch between themselves and providers as a barrier to care this would likely be a strong intervention point by which to facilitate treatment seeking among those in need. This is supported by research demonstrating that incorporating important aspects of Latino American culture can be effective at engaging and retaining Latino adults in treatment. Alternatively, efforts to merely acknowledge the lived experiences of Latino patients (e.g., immigration challenges) could be enough to improve treatment engagement. Research shows that such acknowledgment may produce better treatment outcomes than relying on a “one size fits all” approach that is agnostic to the lived reality of being a Latino American who also has a substance use disorder. That said, it is unknown why Latino Americans perceived specialty alcohol treatment as being less effective than White Americans. It could be that Latinos are more skeptical of medical explanations and treatments for mental health more generally, of which alcohol use disorder treatment is only one type. It is also possible that Latino American participants may have had negative interactions with providers previously who lacked cultural competence/humility which negatively impacted their treatment. This is somewhat supported by research suggesting that a lack of cultural competence/humility among providers results in worse behavioral outcomes among patients. Future research is needed to replicate and explicate this interesting and potentially important finding.
Latino Americans with alcohol use disorders face unique challenges to specialty alcohol care. They endorsed beliefs that treatment was not effective, discomfort communicating in English, concerns that treatment would impact their own or their loved ones’ immigration status, and beliefs that providers were not culturally competent. Although the present study did not explore why such differences were found, it is possible that Latino individuals had a general skepticism regarding medical explanations and treatments for mental health or previous negative experiences with providers. It is critical for more research to be conducted to investigate possible reasons why such treatment barriers exist and how they can be overcome.
Pinedo, M., Zemore, S. E., Gilbert, P. A., Castro, Y., & Caetano, R. (2025). Differences in barriers to specialty alcohol treatment between Latino and White adults with an alcohol use disorder. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 269. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.112594.
l
Latino Americans (i.e., those in the US of Latin American descent, a.k.a. “Hispanic Americans”) are more negatively impacted by alcohol than White Americans. Research suggests that Latino Americans drink more alcohol, engage in more heavy alcohol use, and experience more negative social consequences due to alcohol (e.g., problems with family) than White Americans. In addition, Latino Americans with alcohol use disorders are less likely to receive specialty alcohol treatment (i.e., in/out-patient services or rehabilitation) than White Americans. It is important to point out that these differences are not solely the result of differences in socio-economic factors (e.g., lower income as a marker for constrained treatment access) suggesting that something specific to the experience of Latino Americans may be driving these disparities.
To date, research on the reasons why Latino Americans are less likely to receive specialty alcohol use disorder treatment has been mixed. Surveys suggest that logistical barriers (e.g., difficulties finding treatment, or obtaining childcare) may be one reason why Latino Americans are less likely to seek out treatment compared to White Americans. However, other research contradicts these findings. The reasons for disparities in treatment utilization are made more unclear by evidence that other issues may contribute to observed treatment disparities. Qualitative research, for example, suggests that low perceived treatment need (e.g., not believing treatment was necessary), low perceived treatment efficacy (e.g., not believing treatment would be helpful), cultural barriers (e.g., perceptions that treatment providers lack familiarity with Latino culture), and incongruent recovery goals (e.g., individual goals of reducing but not abstaining from alcohol) were all reasons cited by Latino participants for not pursuing alcohol treatment. In addition, Latino Americans described how stigma towards substance use treatment (e.g., concerns of peer/family judgment due to pursuing treatment) deterred them from seeking care.
There is also evidence suggesting that sex and gender roles may impact substance use and subsequent treatment among Latino Americans. Hispanic women (Latinas) are less likely than Hispanic men (Latinos) to seek alcohol treatment and experience more stigma because of their alcohol use. Despite these documented disparities, research on sex differences in specialty alcohol use treatment within Latino American populations has been lacking. The work that has been done is also inconsistent – while one study found that Latinas were more likely to perceive treatment as ineffective than other sub-groups, other work has not corroborated this finding.
It is important to further investigate sex differences in barriers to alcohol treatment among Latino/as to better understand how to reach these populations. To inform strategies that address potential treatment seeking disparities for Latino Americans with alcohol use disorder, this study investigated differences in beliefs about treatment between Latino and White Americans by gender recruited from a national sample of US adults.
This study was a quantitative cross-sectional descriptive survey in a nationally representative sample of White and Latino US adults. The primary goal of this research was to determine the unique barriers to specialty alcohol use disorder treatment endorsed by Latino Americans using a validated survey measure. The study also examined how endorsement of barriers varied across participants’ birth sex (i.e., males and females). Descriptive statistics and multivariable models were used to characterize the outcome of endorsed treatment barriers.
The primary outcomes of the present study were the assessment of perceived barriers to specialty alcohol use disorder treatment in Latino vs. White individuals on the Barriers to Specialty Alcohol Treatment Scale. The Barriers to Specialty Alcohol Treatment Scale is a 36-item survey measure that was designed to capture a wide array of barriers to specialty alcohol treatment not assessed by previous instruments. This measure was informed by previous quantitative and qualitative research to assess barriers especially relevant to Latino Americans. See Graphic below for example items.
Respondents indicate via a 5-point Likert scale ranging from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree the degree to which each barrier to treatment personally impacted them. The scale consists of items across 7 domains including low problem recognition (e.g., “I didn’t feel I had a drinking problem”), incongruent recovery goals (e.g., “I wanted to reduce my drinking but not stop completely”), low perceived treatment efficacy (e.g., “I didn’t think treatment would be helpful for me because alcohol treatment is not effective”), cultural concerns (e.g., “Attending an alcohol treatment is something that is not accepted in my culture”), immigration-related concerns (e.g., “I was afraid that using treatment would have negative consequences for the immigration status of someone in my family, like my parents or children”), perceived lack of social support (e.g., “I was afraid of being rejected going to treatment”), and logistical barriers to treatment (“My health insurance didn’t cover alcohol treatment”).
The present study utilized a pre-existing nationally representative web panel with ~2 million members. For the current study, randomly selected panel members were invited to complete a brief screener to determine their eligibility to participate. Eligible participants were: (1) adults (i.e., 18+ years of age), who (2) identified as White or of Latino racial/ethnic descent, and (3) met diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder via criteria outlined in the DSM-5 within the past 5 years. Recruitment minimums were used to ensure an equal proportion of participants across ethnicity and sex.
The study sample included 1200 participants evenly distributed across sex and ethnicity (i.e., the sample included 300 Latinos, 300 Latinas, 300 White males and 300 White females). The study did not use weights to provide unbiased estimates of US adults as is typical for representative samples; therefore, the current findings should not be considered representative of all US adults, even though participants were randomly selected from a larger representative sample. Participants in the sample were on average 34 years old. Most participants (60%) did not have a college degree, were employed (75%), and had an annual income of ≥$50,000 (55%). Most participants (82%) reported having health insurance. Most of the participants (88%) were born in the US, however, more Latino Americans reported being born outside the US compared to White Americans (80% vs. 97% respectively). On average, participants reported 4 alcohol use disorder symptoms consistent with moderate alcohol use disorder. However, most participants (71%) did not report receiving any specialty alcohol use disorder treatment in the past 5 years.
Latino Americans had higher levels of perceived barriers to treatment than White Americans
Latino Americans were more likely to endorse 22 out of 36 barriers to specialty alcohol treatment. These included logistical, cultural, and social support-related barriers to care. In contrast, White individuals did not have any barriers to treatment with which they agreed more than Latino individuals.
Adjusting for whether someone was foreign or US born, gender, age, household income, health insurance status, and treatment use in the past 5 years to isolate the independent associations between barriers and Latino vs. White ethnicity, 9 barriers had higher levels among Latinos. These included beliefs that treatment was not effective, discomfort communicating in English, concerns that treatment would impact participants’ immigration status, and beliefs that providers were from a different culture (e.g., providers would not understand the participant’s cultural background). For every 1 point in the direction of higher levels of the perceived barrier (e.g., agree vs. neutral or strongly agree vs. agree), participants were 25-50% more likely to identify as Latino than White.
No differences in specialty treatment barriers were found by sex
When the authors compared rates of specialty treatment barrier endorsement, they found that there were no differences between Latinos and Latinas.
Findings showed that Latino Americans with alcohol use disorders may face unique barriers to specialty alcohol treatment compared to White Americans. As might be expected given their unique cultural experiences, Latino Americans were more likely to report that concerns about cultural differences between themselves and their providers, discomfort communicating in English, and the potential impact treatment may have on themselves or their loved ones’ immigration status than White Americans. In addition, however, they also endorsed higher levels not thinking treatment will work because it is ineffective. Taken together, these results may indicate that Latino Americans with alcohol use disorders face unique challenges to specialty alcohol care.
The present results suggest that tailoring specialty alcohol treatment programs to better reflect the needs/experiences of Latino Americans may increase Latino Americans’ treatment seeking. Given that Latino American participants unilaterally cited a perceived cultural mismatch between themselves and providers as a barrier to care this would likely be a strong intervention point by which to facilitate treatment seeking among those in need. This is supported by research demonstrating that incorporating important aspects of Latino American culture can be effective at engaging and retaining Latino adults in treatment. Alternatively, efforts to merely acknowledge the lived experiences of Latino patients (e.g., immigration challenges) could be enough to improve treatment engagement. Research shows that such acknowledgment may produce better treatment outcomes than relying on a “one size fits all” approach that is agnostic to the lived reality of being a Latino American who also has a substance use disorder. That said, it is unknown why Latino Americans perceived specialty alcohol treatment as being less effective than White Americans. It could be that Latinos are more skeptical of medical explanations and treatments for mental health more generally, of which alcohol use disorder treatment is only one type. It is also possible that Latino American participants may have had negative interactions with providers previously who lacked cultural competence/humility which negatively impacted their treatment. This is somewhat supported by research suggesting that a lack of cultural competence/humility among providers results in worse behavioral outcomes among patients. Future research is needed to replicate and explicate this interesting and potentially important finding.
Latino Americans with alcohol use disorders face unique challenges to specialty alcohol care. They endorsed beliefs that treatment was not effective, discomfort communicating in English, concerns that treatment would impact their own or their loved ones’ immigration status, and beliefs that providers were not culturally competent. Although the present study did not explore why such differences were found, it is possible that Latino individuals had a general skepticism regarding medical explanations and treatments for mental health or previous negative experiences with providers. It is critical for more research to be conducted to investigate possible reasons why such treatment barriers exist and how they can be overcome.
Pinedo, M., Zemore, S. E., Gilbert, P. A., Castro, Y., & Caetano, R. (2025). Differences in barriers to specialty alcohol treatment between Latino and White adults with an alcohol use disorder. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 269. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.112594.
l
Latino Americans (i.e., those in the US of Latin American descent, a.k.a. “Hispanic Americans”) are more negatively impacted by alcohol than White Americans. Research suggests that Latino Americans drink more alcohol, engage in more heavy alcohol use, and experience more negative social consequences due to alcohol (e.g., problems with family) than White Americans. In addition, Latino Americans with alcohol use disorders are less likely to receive specialty alcohol treatment (i.e., in/out-patient services or rehabilitation) than White Americans. It is important to point out that these differences are not solely the result of differences in socio-economic factors (e.g., lower income as a marker for constrained treatment access) suggesting that something specific to the experience of Latino Americans may be driving these disparities.
To date, research on the reasons why Latino Americans are less likely to receive specialty alcohol use disorder treatment has been mixed. Surveys suggest that logistical barriers (e.g., difficulties finding treatment, or obtaining childcare) may be one reason why Latino Americans are less likely to seek out treatment compared to White Americans. However, other research contradicts these findings. The reasons for disparities in treatment utilization are made more unclear by evidence that other issues may contribute to observed treatment disparities. Qualitative research, for example, suggests that low perceived treatment need (e.g., not believing treatment was necessary), low perceived treatment efficacy (e.g., not believing treatment would be helpful), cultural barriers (e.g., perceptions that treatment providers lack familiarity with Latino culture), and incongruent recovery goals (e.g., individual goals of reducing but not abstaining from alcohol) were all reasons cited by Latino participants for not pursuing alcohol treatment. In addition, Latino Americans described how stigma towards substance use treatment (e.g., concerns of peer/family judgment due to pursuing treatment) deterred them from seeking care.
There is also evidence suggesting that sex and gender roles may impact substance use and subsequent treatment among Latino Americans. Hispanic women (Latinas) are less likely than Hispanic men (Latinos) to seek alcohol treatment and experience more stigma because of their alcohol use. Despite these documented disparities, research on sex differences in specialty alcohol use treatment within Latino American populations has been lacking. The work that has been done is also inconsistent – while one study found that Latinas were more likely to perceive treatment as ineffective than other sub-groups, other work has not corroborated this finding.
It is important to further investigate sex differences in barriers to alcohol treatment among Latino/as to better understand how to reach these populations. To inform strategies that address potential treatment seeking disparities for Latino Americans with alcohol use disorder, this study investigated differences in beliefs about treatment between Latino and White Americans by gender recruited from a national sample of US adults.
This study was a quantitative cross-sectional descriptive survey in a nationally representative sample of White and Latino US adults. The primary goal of this research was to determine the unique barriers to specialty alcohol use disorder treatment endorsed by Latino Americans using a validated survey measure. The study also examined how endorsement of barriers varied across participants’ birth sex (i.e., males and females). Descriptive statistics and multivariable models were used to characterize the outcome of endorsed treatment barriers.
The primary outcomes of the present study were the assessment of perceived barriers to specialty alcohol use disorder treatment in Latino vs. White individuals on the Barriers to Specialty Alcohol Treatment Scale. The Barriers to Specialty Alcohol Treatment Scale is a 36-item survey measure that was designed to capture a wide array of barriers to specialty alcohol treatment not assessed by previous instruments. This measure was informed by previous quantitative and qualitative research to assess barriers especially relevant to Latino Americans. See Graphic below for example items.
Respondents indicate via a 5-point Likert scale ranging from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree the degree to which each barrier to treatment personally impacted them. The scale consists of items across 7 domains including low problem recognition (e.g., “I didn’t feel I had a drinking problem”), incongruent recovery goals (e.g., “I wanted to reduce my drinking but not stop completely”), low perceived treatment efficacy (e.g., “I didn’t think treatment would be helpful for me because alcohol treatment is not effective”), cultural concerns (e.g., “Attending an alcohol treatment is something that is not accepted in my culture”), immigration-related concerns (e.g., “I was afraid that using treatment would have negative consequences for the immigration status of someone in my family, like my parents or children”), perceived lack of social support (e.g., “I was afraid of being rejected going to treatment”), and logistical barriers to treatment (“My health insurance didn’t cover alcohol treatment”).
The present study utilized a pre-existing nationally representative web panel with ~2 million members. For the current study, randomly selected panel members were invited to complete a brief screener to determine their eligibility to participate. Eligible participants were: (1) adults (i.e., 18+ years of age), who (2) identified as White or of Latino racial/ethnic descent, and (3) met diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder via criteria outlined in the DSM-5 within the past 5 years. Recruitment minimums were used to ensure an equal proportion of participants across ethnicity and sex.
The study sample included 1200 participants evenly distributed across sex and ethnicity (i.e., the sample included 300 Latinos, 300 Latinas, 300 White males and 300 White females). The study did not use weights to provide unbiased estimates of US adults as is typical for representative samples; therefore, the current findings should not be considered representative of all US adults, even though participants were randomly selected from a larger representative sample. Participants in the sample were on average 34 years old. Most participants (60%) did not have a college degree, were employed (75%), and had an annual income of ≥$50,000 (55%). Most participants (82%) reported having health insurance. Most of the participants (88%) were born in the US, however, more Latino Americans reported being born outside the US compared to White Americans (80% vs. 97% respectively). On average, participants reported 4 alcohol use disorder symptoms consistent with moderate alcohol use disorder. However, most participants (71%) did not report receiving any specialty alcohol use disorder treatment in the past 5 years.
Latino Americans had higher levels of perceived barriers to treatment than White Americans
Latino Americans were more likely to endorse 22 out of 36 barriers to specialty alcohol treatment. These included logistical, cultural, and social support-related barriers to care. In contrast, White individuals did not have any barriers to treatment with which they agreed more than Latino individuals.
Adjusting for whether someone was foreign or US born, gender, age, household income, health insurance status, and treatment use in the past 5 years to isolate the independent associations between barriers and Latino vs. White ethnicity, 9 barriers had higher levels among Latinos. These included beliefs that treatment was not effective, discomfort communicating in English, concerns that treatment would impact participants’ immigration status, and beliefs that providers were from a different culture (e.g., providers would not understand the participant’s cultural background). For every 1 point in the direction of higher levels of the perceived barrier (e.g., agree vs. neutral or strongly agree vs. agree), participants were 25-50% more likely to identify as Latino than White.
No differences in specialty treatment barriers were found by sex
When the authors compared rates of specialty treatment barrier endorsement, they found that there were no differences between Latinos and Latinas.
Findings showed that Latino Americans with alcohol use disorders may face unique barriers to specialty alcohol treatment compared to White Americans. As might be expected given their unique cultural experiences, Latino Americans were more likely to report that concerns about cultural differences between themselves and their providers, discomfort communicating in English, and the potential impact treatment may have on themselves or their loved ones’ immigration status than White Americans. In addition, however, they also endorsed higher levels not thinking treatment will work because it is ineffective. Taken together, these results may indicate that Latino Americans with alcohol use disorders face unique challenges to specialty alcohol care.
The present results suggest that tailoring specialty alcohol treatment programs to better reflect the needs/experiences of Latino Americans may increase Latino Americans’ treatment seeking. Given that Latino American participants unilaterally cited a perceived cultural mismatch between themselves and providers as a barrier to care this would likely be a strong intervention point by which to facilitate treatment seeking among those in need. This is supported by research demonstrating that incorporating important aspects of Latino American culture can be effective at engaging and retaining Latino adults in treatment. Alternatively, efforts to merely acknowledge the lived experiences of Latino patients (e.g., immigration challenges) could be enough to improve treatment engagement. Research shows that such acknowledgment may produce better treatment outcomes than relying on a “one size fits all” approach that is agnostic to the lived reality of being a Latino American who also has a substance use disorder. That said, it is unknown why Latino Americans perceived specialty alcohol treatment as being less effective than White Americans. It could be that Latinos are more skeptical of medical explanations and treatments for mental health more generally, of which alcohol use disorder treatment is only one type. It is also possible that Latino American participants may have had negative interactions with providers previously who lacked cultural competence/humility which negatively impacted their treatment. This is somewhat supported by research suggesting that a lack of cultural competence/humility among providers results in worse behavioral outcomes among patients. Future research is needed to replicate and explicate this interesting and potentially important finding.
Latino Americans with alcohol use disorders face unique challenges to specialty alcohol care. They endorsed beliefs that treatment was not effective, discomfort communicating in English, concerns that treatment would impact their own or their loved ones’ immigration status, and beliefs that providers were not culturally competent. Although the present study did not explore why such differences were found, it is possible that Latino individuals had a general skepticism regarding medical explanations and treatments for mental health or previous negative experiences with providers. It is critical for more research to be conducted to investigate possible reasons why such treatment barriers exist and how they can be overcome.
Pinedo, M., Zemore, S. E., Gilbert, P. A., Castro, Y., & Caetano, R. (2025). Differences in barriers to specialty alcohol treatment between Latino and White adults with an alcohol use disorder. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 269. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.112594.
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