Insight into alcohol-related problems and its associations with severity of alcohol consumption, mental health status, race, and level of acculturation in southern Taiwanese indigenous people with alcoholism.
OBJECTIVE
While not well known in the West, Taiwan has a substantial indigenous population, and this population has rapidly developed alcohol problems. This study examined the level of insight into alcohol-related problems and its associations with the severity of alcohol consumption, mental health status, race, and the level of acculturation among indigenous populations with alcohol problems in southern Taiwan.


METHODS
A total of 332 indigenes, whose total Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score was equal to 8 or higher, were interviewed. The associations between the level of insight into alcohol-related problems and the severity of alcohol drinking on the AUDIT, mental health status on the Chinese Health Questionnaire-12 (>or= 4 vs. < 4), race (Bunun vs. non-Bunun), and the level of acculturation on the Taiwan Aboriginal Acculturation Scale were examined using logistic regression models.


RESULTS
The results of this study found that 72.6% of the participants had poor insight into alcohol-related problems and no participant had good insight. Participants who had more severe alcohol drinking or poor mental health were more likely to have a higher level of insight into alcohol-related problems. Participants who were non-Bunun were also more likely to have a higher level of insight into alcohol-related problems, but the level of acculturation was not associated with the level of insight into alcohol-related problems.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that most alcoholic indigenes in southern Taiwan have poor insight into their own alcohol-related problems. Cultural specific interventions targeting and improving the indigenes' insight into alcohol-related problems are needed.
Yen
Cheng-Fang
CF
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Hsiao
Ray C
RC
Ries
Richard
R
Liu
Shu-Chun
SC
Huang
Chi-Fen
CF
Chang
Yu-Ping
YP
Yu
Ming-Lung
ML
D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology; D001364:Awareness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult