The Relationship between Ethnicity and Dual Diagnosis to Received Outpatient Treatment on a National Leve

This study examined the relationship between ethnicity and dually diagnosed individuals who received outpatient treatment with a dataset by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA). The survey administered nationwide in the United States was the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) with an 83% response rate. The rate of which ethnicities sought treatment for dual diagnosis was investigated through the framework of service utilization and help seeking behaviors. Results indicated there is a relationship between ethnicity and dual diagnosis with a 4.6% likelihood that they affect each other. There is an association between ethnicity and whether individuals sought outpatient treatment with a 7.9% likelihood of affect to each other. There is also an association between dually diagnosed individuals and their likelihood to seek treatment with 14.9% of affect to each other. When all three components are analyzed together, it was found that dually diagnosed individuals sought treatment 21.6% of the time. The ethnicity that did not find significance and sought outpatient treatment at the same rate (96%) as whites was more than one race. All other ethnicities, Blacks/African Americans (47.6%), Native Americans (33.2%), Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders (54.8%), Asians (53.7%), and Hispanics (52.9%) were less likely to seek outpatient treatment. The results described that more whites with dual diagnosis sought outpatient treatment at a higher rate than any other ethnicity. Even with the high participation rate, it is noteworthy that more attention is needed on ethnic representation for treatment facilities to become more effective. Whites dominated the data by 61.1%. The current research suggests a need for continued research and execution in cultural competence combined with dual diagnosis treatment.