Center on Alcohol, Substance use, And Addictions (CASAA)

The CARE Club for Moms program designed for moms to come together as a group for 90-minutes, once a week, for 6 weeks. The group is led by trained facilitator who teaches stress-reduction and coping practices. The moms discuss their stressors and current coping mechanisms and the program is tailored to their needs. Each week between classes the moms practice the new stress management and coping techniques and report back on their challenges and successes. They keep journals and complete worksheets to refer back to after the program is over. The group is designed to reduce stigma around drinking alcohol to cope or other maladaptive coping mechanisms.

Acculturation is the process of adopting cultural traits, customs, beliefs, and social patterns. There are four major types of acculturation: integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization. Integration is the most widely regarded as the healthiest way to acculturate. Integration can be thought of as “the best of both worlds.” This process encourages individuals to maintain their cultural customs while integrating new cultural customs from the mainstream culture in a new setting. My current study is examining which cultural customs (from heritage and host cultures) serve as risk and/or protective factors for alcohol and substance use. For example, the culture custom of familism is a protective factor, while the cultural custom of traditional gender roles is a risk factor. This examination will allow me to develop programs to address specific patterns of alcohol and substance use among individuals as they acculturate within New Mexico. I am also assessing the risk and protective nature of cultural enclaves within New Mexico. Specifically, how can living in a neighborhood where those around you have similar levels of acculturation promote health and well-being.