Motivating illegal drug use recovery: Evidence for a culturally congruent intervention

Public health interventions may be more effective if they are congruent with cultural values of the target community. To test this possibility, the authors conducted a randomized field trial of a motivational intervention to promote recovery from illegal drug use among a sample of 269 African Americans. The intervention, based on transtheoretical stage-of-change concepts, featured a needs assessment and service referrals and was congruent with relevant African American cultural values. Participants were randomly assigned to this intervention or to a standard assessment-referral protocol. Motivational intervention participants were significantly less likely to be using illegal drugs 1 year later. This finding suggests that motivational intervention congruent with cultural values of the target population can be effective in promoting recovery from drug use.