A Multisite Randomized Effectiveness Trial of Motivational Enhancement Therapy for Spanish-Speaking Substance Users.

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2009;77(5):993-999. [doi: 10.1037/a0016489]

Kathleen M. Carroll, PhD (Yale University School of Medicine, NE Node), Steve Martino, PhD (Yale University School of Medicine, NE Node), Samuel A. Ball, PhD (Yale University School of Medicine, NE Node), Charla Nich (Yale University School of Medicine, NE Node), Tami L. Frankforter (Yale University School of Medicine, NE Node), Luis Añez, EdS, PsyD (Yale University School of Medicine, NE Node), Manuel Paris, Jr., PsyD (Yale University School of Medicine, NE Node), Lourdes Suarez-Morales, PhD (University of Miami School of Medicine, FL Node), José Szapocznik, PhD (University of Miami School of Medicine, FL Node), William R. Miller, PhD (University of New Mexico), Carmen L. Rosa, MS (Center for the Clinical Trials Network, NIDA CCTN), Julie Matthews (Advanced Behavioral Health, Inc., NE Node), Christiane Farentinos, MD, MPH, CADC II (ChangePoint Inc., OR/HI Node).

Hispanic individuals are underrepresented in clinical and research populations and are often excluded from clinical trials in the United States. Hence, there are few data on the effectiveness of most empirically validated therapies for Hispanic substance users. The authors conducted a multisite randomized trial in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) comparing the effectiveness of three individual sessions of motivational enhancement therapy with that of three individual sessions of counseling as usual on treatment retention and frequency of substance use (protocol NIDA-CTN-0021); all assessment and treatment sessions were conducted in Spanish among 405 individuals seeking treatment for any type of current substance use. Treatment exposure was good, with 66% of participants completing all three protocol sessions. Although both interventions resulted in reductions in substance use during the 4-week therapy phase, there were no significant Treatment Condition x Time interactions nor Site x Treatment Condition interactions. Results suggest that the individual treatments delivered in Spanish were both attractive to and effective with this heterogeneous group of Hispanic adults, but the differential effectiveness of motivational enhancement therapy may be limited to those whose primary substance use problem is alcohol and may be fairly modest in magnitude. (Article (Peer-Reviewed), PDF, English, 2009)

Keywords: Alcohol | Behavior therapy | Community health services | CTN primary outcomes | Hispanics and Latinos | Minority groups | Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) | Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (journal)

Document No: 359, PMID: 19803579, PMCID: PMC2792592 (available 10/1/2010)

Submitted by Julie Matthews, Node Coordinator, NE Node, 10/12/2009.