Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Sources of Care for Alcohol and Other Drug Problems: The Role of the African American Church

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Religion and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

African Americans experience significant disparities in treatment access, retention, and quality of care for alcohol and drug use (AOD) problems. Religious congregations, often the first point of contact for help with AOD problems, can play an integral role in improving access to treatment. However, little is known about the role of African American churches in addressing AOD problems. We administered a survey to a faith-based collaborative of 169 African American churches in Los Angeles to examine how AOD problems are identified in congregations, the types of support provided, barriers to providing treatment referrals, and factors associated with the provision of treatment referrals. Seventy-one percent of churches reported caring often for individuals with AOD problems. AOD problems came to the attention of congregations most commonly via a concerned family member (55%) and less frequently through individuals with AOD problems directly approaching clergy (30%). In addition to providing spiritual support, a substantial proportion of churches reported linking individuals to AOD services through referrals (62%) and consultation with providers (48%). Barriers to providing treatment referrals included lack of affordable programs (50%), stigma (50%), lack of effective treatments (45%), and insufficient resources or staff (45%). The likelihood of providing treatment referrals was greater among mid-sized versus smaller-size congregations (OR 3.43; p < .05) and among congregations with clergy that had attended seminary (OR 3.93; p < .05). Knowing how to effectively coordinate informal sources of care provided by African American churches with the formal service sector could make a significant impact on AOD treatment disparities.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aten, J. D., Topping, S., Denney, R. M., & Bayne, T. G. (2010). Collaborating with African American churches to overcome minority disaster mental health disparities: What mental health professionals can learn from Hurricane Katrina. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 41(2), 167–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Babor, T. F., McRee, B. G., Kassebaum, P. A., Grimaldi, P. L., Ahmed, K., & Bray, J. (2007). Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) toward a public health approach to the management of substance abuse. Substance Abuse, 28(3), 7–30.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, S. L. (2004). Priestly and prophetic influences on Black church social services. Social Problems, 51(2), 202–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blank, M. B., Mahmood, M., Fox, J. C., & Guterbock, T. (2002). Alternative mental health services: The role of the Black church in the South. American Journal of Public Health, 92(10), 1668–1672.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bohnert, A. S. B., Perron, B. E., Jarman, C. N., Vaughn, M. G., Chatters, L. M., & Taylor, R. J. (2010). Use of clergy services among individuals seeking treatment for alcohol use problems. The American Journal on Addictions, 19(4), 345–351.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, P. M. Y., Williams, D. R., Griffith, E. E. H., & Young, J. (1994). Church-agency relationships in the black community. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 23(2), 91–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaves, M., & Anderson, S. L. (2008). Continuity and change in American Congregations: Introducing the second wave of the National Congregations Study. Sociology of Religion, 69(4), 415–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaves, M., & Tsitsos, W. (2001). Congregations and social services: What they do, how they do it, and with whom? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 30, 660–683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, B., & Alegría, M. (2011). Racial-ethnic disparities in substance abuse treatment: The role of criminal history and socioeconomic status. Psychiatric Services, 62(11), 1273–1281.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cousins, S. J., Antonini, V. P., & Rawson, R. A. (2012). Utilization, measurement, and funding of recovery supports and services. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 44(4), 325–333. doi:10.1080/02791072.2012.718924.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dempsey, K., Butler, S. K., & Gaither, L. (2016). Black churches and mental health professionals: Can this collaboration work. Journal of Black Studies, 47, 73–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derose, K. P., Bogart, L. M., Kanouse, D. E., Felton, A., Collins, D. O., Mata, M. A., et al. (2014). An intervention to reduce HIV-related stigma in partnership with African American and Latino churches. AIDS Education Prevention, 26(1), 28–42. doi:10.1521/aeap.2014.26.1.28.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Derose, K. P., Griffin, B. A., Kanouse, D. E., Bogart, L. M., Williams, M. V., Haas, A., et al. (2016). Effects of a pilot church-based intervention to reduce HIV stigma and promote HIV testing among African Americans and Latinos. AIDS and Behavior, 20(8), 1692–1705.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Guerrero, E. G., Marsh, J. C., Duan, L., Oh, C., Perron, B., & Lee, B. (2013). Disparities in completion of substance abuse treatment between and within racial and ethnic groups. Health Services Research, 48(4), 1450–1467.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hankerson, S. H., Watson, K. T., Lukachko, A., Fullilove, M. T., & Weissman, M. (2013). Ministers’ perceptions of church-based programs to provide depression care for African Americans. Journal of Urban Health, 90, 359–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mattox, R., & Sullivan, G. (2008). Treatment: “Just What the Preacher Ordered”. Psychiatric Services, 59(4), 349.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Milstein, G., Manierre, A., Susman, V. L., & Bruce, M. L. (2008). Implementation of a program to improve the continuity of mental health care through Clergy Outreach and Professional Engagement (C.O.P.E.). Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 39(2), 218–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mollica R. F., Streets, F. J., Boscarino, J., & Redlich, F. C. (1986). A community study of formal pastoral counseling activities of the clergy. American Journal of Psychiatry, 143(3), 323–328.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moran, M., Flannelly, K. J., Weaver, A. J., Overvold, J. A., Hess, W., & Wilson, J. C. (2005). A study of pastoral care, referral, and consultation practices among clergy in four settings in the New York City area. Pastoral Psychology, 53(3), 255–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petry, N. M., Lewis, M. W., & Ostvik-White, E. M. (2008). Participation in religious activities during contingency management interventions is associated with substance use treatment outcomes. American Journal on Addictions, 17(5), 408–413.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pew Research Center. (2008). U.S. religious landscape survey. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

  • Pickett-Schenk, S. A. (2002). Church-based support groups for African American families coping with mental illness: Outreach and outcomes. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 26, 173–180.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pouget, E. R., West, B. S., Tempalski, B., Cooper, H. L., Hall, H. I., Hu, X., et al. (2014). Persistent racial/ethnic disparities in AIDS diagnosis rates among people who inject drugs in U.S. metropolitan areas, 1993–2007. Public Health Reports, 129(3), 267–279.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • SAMHSA. (2009). Results from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. Rockville, MD: Office of Applied Studies: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

    Google Scholar 

  • SAMHSA. (2010). The NSDUH Report: Substance Use among Black Adults Office of Applied Studies. Rockville, MD.: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suro, R., Escobar, G., Livingston, G., Hakimzadeh, S., Lugo, L., Stencel, S., et al. (2007). Changing faiths: Latinos and the transformation of American Religion. Washington, D.C.: The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life; Pew Hispanic Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, R. J., Ellison, C. G., Chatters, L. M., Levin, J. S., & Lincoln, K. D. (2000). Mental health services in faith communities: The role of clergy in Black churches. Social Work, 45(1), 73–87.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. (2012). Addiction medicine: Closing the gap between science and practice. New York, NY: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, JM, Myers, VL, & Osai, ER. (2004). Faith matters: Race/ethnicity, religion and substance use. Annie E. Casey Foundation.

  • Wang, P. S., Lane, M., Olfson, M., Pincus, H. A., Wells, K. B., & Kessler, R. C. (2005). Twelve-month use of mental health services in the United States: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 629–640.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wells, K., Klap, R., Koike, A., & Sherbourne, C. (2001). Ethnic disparities in unmet need for alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental health care. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158(12), 2027–2032.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R., Griffith, E. E., Young, J. L., Collins, C., & Dodson, J. (1999). Structure and provision of services in Black churches in New Haven, Connecticut. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 5(2), 118–133.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the National Institute of Health, Minority of Health and Health Disparities, R21MD005980.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eunice C. Wong.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Drs. Derose and Miles and Ms. Litt also received funding from the National Institutes of Health R21MD005980.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Study procedures were approved by RAND’s institutional review board.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wong, E.C., Derose, K.P., Litt, P. et al. Sources of Care for Alcohol and Other Drug Problems: The Role of the African American Church. J Relig Health 57, 1200–1210 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0412-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0412-2

Keywords

Navigation