Culturally adapted motivational interviewing's effects on drinking in response to immigration and acculturation stressors among Latinx adults with heavy drinking problems

Audrey Hang Hai; Christina S Lee; Carmen Zhou; Jorge Delva

doi:10.1016/j.josat.2023.209061

Culturally adapted motivational interviewing's effects on drinking in response to immigration and acculturation stressors among Latinx adults with heavy drinking problems

J Subst Use Addict Treat. 2023 Jul:150:209061. doi: 10.1016/j.josat.2023.209061. Epub 2023 May 6.

Authors

Audrey Hang Hai¹, Christina S Lee², Carmen Zhou³, Jorge Delva⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Social Work, Tulane University, 127 Elk Place, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. Electronic address: ahai@tulane.edu.
² Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health, School of Social Work, Boston University, 264 Bay State Rd, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Electronic address: leecs@bu.edu.
³ School of Public Health, Boston University, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118, USA. Electronic address: carmenz@bu.edu.
⁴ School of Social Work, Boston University, 264 Bay State Rd, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Electronic address: jdelva@bu.edu.

Abstract

Introduction: Culturally adapted motivational interviewing (CAMI) is a form of motivational interviewing that was adapted to address immigration- and acculturation-related stressors among Latinx adults who met criteria for hazardous drinking. This study hypothesized that (1) receiving CAMI was associated with reduced immigration/acculturation stress and related drinking and that (2) these associations differed by participants' acculturation and perceived discrimination levels.

Methods: This study employed a single group pre-post study design using data from a randomized controlled trial. Participants were Latinx adults who received CAMI (N = 149). The study assessed immigration/acculturation stress with the Measure of Immigration and Acculturation Stressors (MIAS) and measured related drinking with the Measure of Drinking Related to Immigration and Acculturation Stressors (MDRIAS). The study team conducted linear mixed modeling for repeated measures to examine outcome changes between the baseline and the 6-month and 12-month follow-ups and moderation effects.

Results: Compared to baseline, the study found significant decreases in the total MIAS and MDRIAS scores and subscale scores at 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Moderation analysis results showed that lower acculturation levels and higher levels of perceived discrimination were significantly associated with larger decreases at follow-up in total MIAS and MDRIAS scores and several subscale scores.

Conclusions: Findings provide preliminary support for CAMI's efficacy in reducing immigration and acculturation stress and related drinking among Latinx adults with heavy drinking problems. The study observed more improvements among the less acculturated and more discriminated participants. Larger studies with more rigorous designs are needed.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01996280.

Keywords: Adults; Cultural adaptation; Heavy drinking; Hispanic; Immigration/acculturation stress; Latinx; Motivational interviewing.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Acculturation
Adult
Alcohol Drinking
Alcoholism*
Emigration and Immigration
Hispanic or Latino
Humans
Motivational Interviewing* / methods

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01996280

Grants and funding

R01 AA021136/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States