The Influence of Ethnicity on Spirituality, Essay Example

Bliss, D. (2009). Ethnic differences in spirituality in a sample of men and women in diverse substance abuse treatment settings: Implications for practitioners. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 8, 413-430. doi: 10.1080/15332640903327583

Spirituality has been found to have a positive impact on treating substance abuse. An individual’s culture and ethnicity may affect their spiritual development.  Differentethnicities may encourage and influence various aspects of spirituality, and therefore handle substance abuse treatment programs in different ways.

The study by Bliss (2009) examined the differences in spirituality between Caucasians, African Americans, and Hispanics.  Finding a standard definition of spirituality was difficult, and many definitions did not separate spirituality from religion.  To try and resolve this issue, Bliss explored different dimensions of spirituality: spiritual well-being, religiousness, cognitive orientation towards spirituality, existential well-being, and the experiential/phenomenological dimension of spirituality.  The study found that African Americans scored higher in spiritual well-being, religiousness, and cognitive orientation.  Caucasians scored higher in existential well-being.  Hispanics scored lower in the experiential and phenomenological dimension of spirituality, when compared to Caucasians and African Americans.

The question remains whether intrinsic differences between ethnicities or if other factors, such as socio-economic status and age, have a stronger impact on spirituality.  In the sample population, African Americans were slightly over five years older than Caucasians, and Caucasians had only had two additionalyears of education than Hispanics. However, these factors do not seem to be significant in influencing spirituality. Because the sample population was limited, and the percentage of Hispanics was underrepresented, it is difficult to determine the influence of ethnicity, age, and other socio-economic factors on spirituality. Another limiting factor was that Asians and Native Americans were not included in the sample population.

The study did not address the role ethnicity played in treating substance abuse.  It seemed to be more focused on how ethnicity contributed to an individual’s spirituality.  Because the sampling was not a good representation, further studies on how ethnicity relates to spirituality should be performed.

In practical application, there is a need for assessments and interventions to be more ethnically sensitive when treating individuals with substance abuse.After establishing the impact an individual’s ethnicity can have on their spirituality, more practical applications can be taken.Therapists should be encouraged to take a holistic approach when treating clients and recognize them as individuals.  Certain factors, such as culture and personality can play a significant role into clients’ relationship with both spirituality and ethnicity.  Addressing these factors can be challenging when working with substance abuse, because a majority of programs occur in group settings.  However, group sessions can be modified to encourage the expression of individual experiences and culture or there can be more specific focus groups for distinct ethnicities.  If therapy occurs in an individual session, the therapist may be more easily able to allow the client to explore how their ethnicityimpacts their spirituality, and its association with their substance abuse.  Therapists must be educated on different ethnicities and cultures, and must not to allow their personal biases interfere with the treatment.

If the sample size would have been more expansive, the results may have been more definitive.  While the study poses an excellent question, it would have been interesting to really explore the distinctions of spirituality in each ethnic group of people recovering from addictions.  The study may serve as a pilot to invite further research on how spirituality can be modified when dealing with different ethnicities and cultures.