ABSTRACT
In the 1980s and 1990s, the intersection between race, poverty, and drugs came to the forefront through African American's use of crack cocaine what is known as the Crack Generation. This chapter explores this intersection of culture and addiction. It is important for the therapist to understand the role that substance use and abuse has in various cultural groups and the impact that has for therapy. The concepts of ethnic identity and acculturation become relevant when trying to understand behaviors from different cultures. The chapter presents issues of family diversity; especially in regard to ethnicity of families. That have broken down African American, Hispanic, Asian American, and Native American families into some general characteristics, implications for adolescent drug use and then with an exploration of risk and protective factors. The chapter explores various ethnic groups that work with in therapy and also presents protective factors in relation to substance abuse.
