Annotated Bibliography: Social Work Practice With Groups

Alcoholism is one of our nation’s largest social issues to date, and carries with it many negative aspects, the most dire being death at the hands of this disease. Alcohol and alcoholism have been part of societies for centuries. This habit was brought over to the new world when the first settlers landed on the shores of what was to become America. Furthermore, in bringing alcohol to this new land an entire nation of Native American Indians were introduced to a product that has affected them more negatively than any other to date, and continues to suffer from today and probably well into the future.

Whitesell, N. R., Beals, J., Crow, C. B., Mitchell, C. M., & Novins, D. K. (2012). Epidemiology and Etiology of Substance Use among American Indians and Alaska Natives: Risk, Protection, and Implications for Prevention. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 38(5), 376–382.

The book: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie talks a great amount about addictions and how people on reservations are affected by addictions. An addiction is an addiction. It doesn’t matter if someone is Hispanic, black, Asian, white, Native, Italian, German, or Japanese. It’s still an addiction. It doesn’t matter what race. Addictions have destroyed people. They have ruined once pure lives. Addictions change the way people look at things, they change perspectives. In the same way that Penelope said “Anorexics are anorexics all the time...I’m only bulimic when I’m throwing up” (Alexie 107). It’s the same idea. An addiction is an addiction whether or not someone does it all the time or not, or even if she was addicted to a certain type of drug. It’s still an addiction and you can’t change the truth. In this essay I will examine addiction, how that has stress on relationships, the effect it has on a human body, how race doesn’t matter, and the false impression alcohol gives.

Culture is the way people view their world. Through culture, beliefs are born. What a person believes is directly associated with their behavior. Broome, (2006) states "cultural sensitivity can be defined in the broadest sense to be an awareness and utilization of knowledge related to ethnicity, culture, gender, or sexual orientation in explaining and understanding situations and responses of individuals in their environment.” While assessment tools aid in diagnosis and treatment, to be effective, cultural sensitivity is an inclusion of the client-centered approach enveloped in the assessment instrument. Using a cultural lens in client assessment

Nichea Spillane argues that “Alcohol use among American Indians is perhaps the largest health concern in many American Indian communities” (8). Even with free medical clinics, known as Indian Health Services, many Native Americans who live in cities or have left their tribal lands find it difficult to receive the medical care that is needed. This could explain why, “Uninsured American Indians or Alaska Native Adults were more likely than uninsured adults in the general population to have binged on alcohol in the past month” (SAMHSA 6). Study after study show the disturbing effects of alcohol on the American Indians’ health. From minor health problems to alcohol-attributable deaths, to mental health and suicides, there is no way to document all the damage caused by excessive drinking. It is documented that “…excessive alcohol consumption is a leading cause of preventable death and years of lost life in this population. During 2001-2005, AmericanIndian/ AlaskaNatives were more than twice as likely to die from alcohol-related causes, compared with the U.S. general population (Naimi et al. 940).

The impact of various kinds of substances to cultural groups has historically been precipitated by the significance of particular substances on different cultural groups (Moore, 2010).This is mainly because the long term usage of these substances leads to the integration of the consumption of the substance into the cultural patterns of the given group. One such group that has been affected by the extensive usage of a particular substance is the Native American community. According to the Associated Press (2014, August 28), as noted on the MSNBC website, out of ten deaths among the Native American population, one is Alcohol related. Additionally, the prevalence of Alcohol consumption among the Native American population relates to

Of all Asian minorities living within the United States, Japanese immigrants have the greatest prevalence of alcohol abuse (Makimoto). Due to the highly dangerous effects of this proliferation, this situation must be stopped; however, in order to consider a solution to the problem, the causes must first be determined. Japanese individuals experience a multitude of cultural differences when interacting with American culture (Makimoto). A number of studies have hypothesized a relationship between cultural assimilation and alcoholic abuse within Japanese immigrants, and investigating this link may provide information for remedying alcohol abuse. In order to properly scrutinize the former relationship, I posed the question: “Within the state of California, does the acculturation of first generation Japanese (FGJ) immigrant

Alcoholism is the leading health and social problem of American Indians than any other race. Native Americans who end up leaving the reservation to pursue education or employment opportunities express a high degree of discomfort and anxiety as a result of “feeling caught in two worlds.” By leaving the reservation they are abandoning their traditions, however temporarily, and suffering a sense of personal loss and insecurity. In entering a new world, this sense of loss and insecurity is heightened and becomes exacerbated, particularly if they do not experience success or acceptance in the new environment (Major, A.K. A 2003). However, if success and acceptance in the new world occurs, these individuals will still suffer the pangs of abandonment since they can never fully return to the reservation. In some cases, forced assimilation has extinguished the culture from many Indians as their grandparents and parents were forced to abandon the old ways in order to become more American. Thomas Jefferson, as well as many others believed that Native Americans can be just as ‘White’ Americans. In an attempt to increase local employment opportunities, many tribes have turned to gambling casinos and the collateral business which support these ventures. Illegal activities would certainly increase among Indians because of the simple fact that they need to survive by any means necessary. This can all

On first nation’s reserve 75% of the population believes that alcohol use is a problem in their community, 33% believe that alcohol and drug use is a problem in their house hold, and 25% say that they have a personal problem with alcohol. With these statistics you can see that first nations have a real problem with alcohol with drugs. Though 66% of first nation’s adults living on reserve consumed alcohol compared to the general percent of 76%. This means that those who drink heavily consume five of more drinks on a weekly basis on one occasion on a weekly basis. The good news is that the website where I

Substance abuse is heavily associated with the region of Appalachia. Appalachian people are looked at negatively for being categorized with drug and alcohol addictions. The issue has increased since coal mining and other industrial work places are declining in the area (Sodomick, 2014). People resort to drug trade to make profit since the career field is declining in the area. Because substance abuse has become so popular, overdose and countless deaths have occurred more often as well. The past few years, it has been a horrific trouble with the

16). Homosexuals, who struggle to integrate into society secondary to rejection and bullying, confide in drugs to cope with their unaccepted identity. Racism and ethnicity also play a prominent role in drug abuse. The historical legacies of the first nation, Inuit and metis youth have resulted in many injustice inequalities like poverty, unemployment, poor living conditions and increasing diseases, lashing adversities for survival and a good quality of life. As a result of these disparities and poor conditions, “some of these effects help explain higher risks of substance use and misuse for Native people in general, as well as for First Nation, Inuit and Métis youth” (Centre on Substance Abuse, 2007, p. 17). A growing concern reflects the use of drugs like cocaine mostly to deal with the struggles teenagers undergo, “substance abuse or dependence disorders among young people in these risk groups may be attempts to manage, however ineffectually, intense stressors and toxic environments, the physiological effects of chronic stress, and psychological outcomes of untreated trauma, both prior and recurring” (Centre on Substance Abuse, 2007, p.

In an investigation done by Whitebeck (et al., 2001) on 195 Native American children between the ages of 9-12 on reservation in the midwest, further testimony indicated internalized and externalized discrimination and early substance abuse. Such abuse connects with adolescent anger and delinquent behavior when young children realize that they are part of an ethnic minority. This leads to “internalized discrimination” where youth often have conflicts with self-worth, confidence, feelings of alienation, depression, and experiences with the same stress that can be brought upon by death of a loved one, divorce, and job loss.

Chronic liver disease is an extremely debilitating and degenerative disease that is often the result of a series of years of alcoholism. The result is this terrible disease in which the liver begins to fail, and will usually result in the overall deterioration of the body and will often lead to the need for a liver transplant or dialysis. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (2017), “In 2015, chronic liver disease was the fifth leading cause of death for all American Indians/Alaska Natives” (Para. 1). This is an alarmingly high statistic, but what was even more alarming was to find out that, “American Indian/Alaska Native men and women are 2.5 times as likely to be diagnosed with chronic liver disease, as compared to non-Hispanic whites” (Para. 1). This suggests that perhaps Native

Dr. Jackson said, “Community is about people.” (Jackson & Sinclair, 2011, p. 8). What better way to build better communities than by coming together to save the indigenous youth from the negative effects of alcohol abuse. The Northern Territory in Australia has a large indigenous population and alcoholism seems prevalent among this population. The purpose of the action plan is to help lower the number of indigenous youth that consume alcohol at a young age or when they reach adulthood. Looking at the indigenous population in the town of Alice Springs only for the implementation of the action plan; symptoms, diagnosis, cure, and prevention will be discussed.

Alcoholism is more likely in the Native American population than any other racial groups. Suicide is the number one cause of death among Native males ages 10-14, and the suicide rate for ages 15-24 is 57% more than the non-native population. (Center for Native American Youth) Native Americans have a higher rate of gang involvement than African Americans or Latinos. Sexual abuse and child abuse is twice as high as the national average for the general population. (Riley, 2016)