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National statistics show that Hispanics – who comprise 82% of the population in El Paso – largely abstain from alcohol. However, when they do drink, they drink in ways that are more likely to adversely impact their lives.
Binge drinking can lead to many types of problems that can affect individuals, their family and their community. Some of these drinkers realize their problem and they have found ways to change their drinking habits with treatment or participation in Alcoholics Anonymous, but many of them change on their own.
Those individuals – the ones who solved their problems through their own devices – can help researchers from The University of Texas at El Paso. A cohort of faculty, staff and students who are part of UTEP’s Latino Alcohol and Health Disparities Research (LAHDR) and Training Center plan to launch a new self-funded research effort, called CAMBIOS, in April 2020 that will focus on successful changes among heavy drinkers that may include abstinence.
For CAMBIOS, LAHDR hopes to recruit Hispanic men ages 20 to 50 from the Paso del Norte region who have effectively changed their drinking behavior. The researchers want to learn what, how and why the participants decided to alter their behavior. The center will study the psychological factors and cultural risks the men encountered.
“In the end, these men have made a change that will impact their lives in positive ways,” said Craig Field, Ph.D., professor of psychology and director of the LAHDR center. “That change will benefit them, their families, their careers and their communities. We want to learn more about the factors that led them to make this change and how those factors contribute to their success. If we better understand what it is that allows them to succeed, we can help others successfully make this change, too.”
Prospective participants are encouraged to read more about CAMBIOS on the LAHDR website, utep.edu/lahdr. The researchers will conduct their study electronically so participants can respond privately at their convenience.
This is an important and worthwhile project, said Raul Caetano, Ph.D., senior research scientist at the Prevention Research Center, which is part of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in Berkeley, California. He also is professor emeritus of epidemiology at the The University of Texas School of Public Health, Dallas Regional Campus. He met Field there more than 15 years ago. They have collaborated on several research projects since then.
Caetano, a member of LAHDR’s advisory council, called Field “an excellent researcher” who is an expert in studies to reduce alcohol-related injuries in a medical setting, particularly among Hispanics. This research has led to a culturally informed intervention that is tailored to the needs and values of Hispanics.
He also lauded UTEP for its support of LAHDR, which Field established in 2014. Caetano called it an important center based in an area of major interest to alcohol abuse researchers. He called the U.S.-Mexico border a unique place to study because U.S. residents, especially older teens, often go to Mexico, where the drinking age is lower – 18 as opposed to 21 – and the alcohol is cheaper.
“Dr. Field is an asset for UTEP, and the center creates a lot of opportunities for communication, collaboration, education and training of psychology students,” Caetano said.
The University of Texas at El Paso enrolls more than 25,000 students in 166 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in 10 colleges and schools. With $108 million in total annual research expenditures, UTEP is ranked in the top 5% nationally and fourth in Texas for federal research expenditures at public universities, after UT Austin, Texas A&M and the University of Houston. UTEP is one of the largest and most successful Hispanic-serving institutions in the country, with a student body that is over 80% Hispanic.
Original post https://alertarticles.info
