Racial differences of stimulant abusers’ prior experiences, expectations, and readiness to engage in 12-step programs.

Important differences may exist between African American and Caucasian substance abusers regarding involvement in and acceptance of 12-step programs. This ancillary investigation of data from protocol CTN-0031 (STAGE-12), examined baseline differences between 171 African American and 224 Caucasian stimulant abusers enrolled in the study, in terms of experiences in and expectations of 12-step groups, understanding of addiction, and spiritual involvement and beliefs. The analysis found that Caucasian participants indicated a greater likelihood to get involved in self-help groups than African American participants, while African Americans scored higher on a scale measuring the perceived benefits of 12-step groups. Caucasian participants reported higher scores on the eclectic subscale reflecting participants’ beliefs about the treatment and etiology of addiction. African American participants had higher scores than Caucasian participants on the Core Spirituality subscale, the Personal Application/Humility subscale and Total SIBS-R measure of spirituality.

Conclusions: Although Caucasian participants reported a higher likelihood of attending 12-step groups, African Americans report more perceived benefit from meeting attendance than Caucasians. Such results indicate encouragement to attend 12-step groups may be appropriate for substance abuse clients of both races. Results also indicate that African Americans may be more open to the spiritual aspects of the 12-step philosophy than Caucasians.

Related protocols: CTN-0031