Assessing th~, Effects of Evidence-Based Psychotherapies with Ethnic Minority Youths

Nearly 45% ofyouth in the United States are ethnic minority or multiracial, and minority youth currently represent a numerical majority or near majority in 25% of U.S. counties (Pollard & Mather, 2009). Not surprisingly, ethnic minority youth also make up a large percentage of those who utilize mental health services in the United States (McCabe et aI., 1999), particularly in large metropolitan areas. Yet our understanding of opti­ mal ways to treat ethnic minority youth with behavioral/emotional problems is limitecl. Although evidence-based treatments (EBTs) exist for youth with diverse mental health problems, many doubt whether standard EBTs can be used effectively to treat ethnic minorities (e.g., Hall, 20Gl). In debates over treatment efficacy with ethnic minorities, the ethnic dIsparity and ethnic invariance perspectives make differem predictions concerning the possibility of ethnic differences in therapy outcomes. The ethnic disparity perspective argues that EBTs are less effective for ethnic minorities than for European Americans. EBTs might shortchange ethnic minorities because conventional treatments are developed by and for European Americans, and thus clinicians and clinical researrhers may be more inclined to ignore cultural considerations. In contrast, the ethnic invariance perspective suggests that EBTs affect all cultural groups equally because basic principles of thera­ peutic change are universal. The goal of this chapter is to shed some light on thi~ debate by summarizing what we know about EBTs for ethnic minority youth with psychosocial problems. Specifically, we examine several questions regarrling psychotherapy efficacy and engagement with minority youth. First, what treatments are efficacious for ethnic ~inority youth and how