A scoping review of cultural adaptations of substance use disorder treatments across Latinx communities: Guidance for future research and practice

Four research groups employed adaptation models to culturally tailor evidence-based interventions and most often used elements of community-based participatory research (CBPR). Using Bernal, Bellido, & Bonilla's (1995) Ecological Validity Framework of eight dimensions, the most common cultural adaptations centered on language, context, content, and persons. Efficacy trials with Latinx populations are nascent though growing and reveal: (1) significant time effects for EBTs and most EBPs, (2) superior SUD outcomes for culturally adapted EBTs compared to standard EBTs or other comparison conditions by three research groups, (3) significant prevention intervention effects by three research groups, and (4) significant cultural or social moderators by two groups suggesting Latinx with higher cultural identity, parental familism, or baseline discrimination improve significantly more in the culturally adapted EBTs.