Cultural Adaptation of Drug Treatment for DJJ Youth

This project aims to improve the understanding of the impact of Ethnic and Racial Discrimination (ERD) on adolescent alcohol and other drug use (AOD) within the Black Justice-Involved Youth (JIY) population. Individual interviews with Black JIY and focus groups with parents and guardians of Black JIY and community members who support change and reform in the justice community for Black JIY will be conducted.

Black JIY are overrepresented in the criminal justice system due to institutional racism and discrimination. The General Strain Theory posits that high levels of ethnic and racial discrimination (ERD), paired with elevated levels of witnessing or experiencing police brutality, places Black JIY at unique risk of increased alcohol and other drug use (AOD) as a means of coping with stressful events. Black JIY report engaging in comorbid alcohol and cannabis use to achieve temporary respite from discrimination-induced stress. While JIY engage in higher rates of comorbid alcohol and cannabis use compared to non-justice-involved youth, overall, Black JIY are less likely to be diverted to substance use treatment programs, less likely to engage in care after being released on probation, less likely to benefit from substance use treatment in terms of reduced risk of recidivism, and are more adversely affected by early onset of AOD activity than White JIY. To date, no known adolescent substance use treatment directly addresses ERD, the increased risk of AOD due to ERD, or explicitly presents tools on how to appropriately respond to AOD and discrimination distress among Black JIY. To address this problem, the investigator's research program aspires to improve the understanding of the impact of ERD on adolescent AOD within the Black JIY population. Individual interviews with Black JIY and focus groups with guardians of Black JIY and community members will be conducted. Data will be used to culturally adapt an adolescent substance use intervention. The culturally adapted intervention will then be piloted with 30 Black JIY.