Flavio Francisco Marsiglia, Stephen S. Kulis and Stephanie Lechuga- Peña
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above.
You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Title: Diversity, oppression, and change : culturally grounded social work / Flavio Francisco Marsiglia, Stephen S. Kulis & Stephanie Lechuga-Peña, Arizona State University.
Description: Third edition. | New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020031538 (print) | LCCN 2020031539 (ebook) | ISBN 9780190059507 (paperback) | ISBN 9780190059521 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Social service and race relations. | Social work with minorities. | Social work with indigenous peoples.
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020031538
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020031539
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Marquis, Canada
This book is dedicated to our parents Lucía & Flavio Antonio; Dottie; and Carolina & William—who taught us so much about cultural diversity and resiliency.
CONTENTS
list of figures , tables , box , and notes from the field xiii preface xvii
acknowledgments xxiii about the authors xxv
PART I CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL WORK
chapter 1
Culture 3
Cultural Identity and Cultural Boundaries 5
Race 10
Ethnicity and Race 12
Ethnicity and Cultural Identity Formation 14
Social Work and Cultural Diversity 16
Culturally Grounded Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors in Social Work 19
Privilege and Empathy 21
Higher Education and the Risk of Classism 22
Recognizing and Crossing Boundaries 24
Key Concepts 28
Discussion Questions 28
chapter 2
Cultural Diversity, Oppression, and Action: A Culturally Grounded Paradigm 29
The Cultural Orientation Paradigm 31
The Oppression or Power-Based Paradigm 33
Oppression 35
chapter 3
Action as Liberation 38
Challenges to Action: Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination 39
Key Concepts 45
Discussion Questions 45
The Intersectionality of Race and Ethnicity With Other Factors 46
Intersectionality 46
Social Class 48
Gender 50
Sexual Orientation 54
Religion 56
Ability Status 59
Age 61
The Intersection of Religion and Ethnicity: Jews and Arabs 62
Key Concepts 64
Discussion Questions 64
chapter 4
Intersecting Social and Cultural Determinants of Health and Well-Being 65
Health Equity 66
Health Disparities 68
Upstream and Downstream Causal Factors 69
Health Inequalities and Health Inequities 70
Intersectionality and the Social Gradient 71
The Social Gradient in Health 72
Access to Health Care and the Medical Poverty Trap 74
Social Determinants of Health: Societal Risks and Protective Factors 77
Cultural Determinants of Health 90
Practice and Policy Implications 92
Key Concepts 94
Discussion Questions 95
PART II THEORIES AND PERSPECTIVES ON OPPRESSION
chapter 5
Evolutionary and Structural Functionalist Classical Theories 99
Evolutionary and Conflict Theories: Exaggerating and Minimizing Difference and Inequality 100
Structural Functionalist Theories: Managing Conflict, Integration, and Social Stability 104
Key Concepts 111
Discussion Questions 112
chapter 6
Theoretical Perspectives on Diversity 113
Perspectives on Inclusiveness: Recognizing and Promoting Diversity 113
Constructivism and Postmodernism: Words Create Worlds 119
Relevance of Theories to Culturally Grounded Social Work 129
Key Concepts 130
Discussion Questions 130
chapter 7
Social Work Perspectives: Social Context, Consciousness, and Resiliency 131
Strengths or Resiliency Perspective 132
Person-in-Environment Perspective 136
Feminist Theory 137
Intersectionality Theory 138
Liberation Pedagogy 141
Synthesis: An Eclectic Theoretical Approach to Culturally Grounded Social Work 142
Applying a Culturally Grounded Approach to Social Work Practice 146
Shifting From a “Culturally Neutral” to a Culturally Grounded Paradigm 147
Revisiting Praxis 150
Key Concepts 152
Discussion Questions 152
PART III CULTURAL IDENTITIES
chapter 8
chapter 9
The Formation and Legacies of Racial and Ethnic Minorities 155
Colonialism and Genocide: Native Americans 156
Slavery: African Americans, Emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement 164
Annexation: Mexican Americans 169
Migration, Exploitation, Rejection, and the Model Minority: Asian Americans 176
The End of Racism? 178
Key Concepts 180
Discussion Questions 181
Gender 182
Gender, Gender Roles, and Gender Identity 182
Sexism 185
Gender Inequality in the Workplace 186
The New Sexism 188
chapter 10
The Women’s Movement and Feminism 190
Sexism, Gender Inequality, and Intersectionality 193
Men and Hegemonic Masculinity 194
Toxic Masculinity 196
Masculinities and Intersectionality 199
Men’s Movements and a “New” Masculinity 200
The Transgender Community 202
Key Concepts 208
Discussion Questions 209
Sexual Orientation 210
Differing Views on Sexual Orientation 210
Explaining the Origins of Same-Sex Sexuality 211
Same-Sex Sexual Behavior, Attraction, and Identity 216
Heterosexism, Homophobia, and Prejudice Toward Sexual Minorities 221
Intersectionality and Minority Stress: Gay Men of Color 226
Gay and Lesbian Rights Movements 232
Social Work Practice With Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients 234
Key Concepts 235
Discussion Questions 235
PART IV THE PROFESSION OF SOCIAL WORK GROUNDED IN CULTURE
chapter 11
Cultural Norms and Social Work Practice 239
Individualism and Collectivism 240
A Cultural Approximation to Selected Identity Groups 243
Gender and Sexual Orientation 254
Ethics and Culture: Cultural Values and Practices Are Not All Inherently Good 256
Key Concepts 258
Discussion Questions 259
chapter 12
Culturally Grounded Methods of Social Work Practice 260
Culturally Grounded Social Work With Individuals and Their Families 261
Culturally Grounded Social Work With Groups 263
Culturally Grounded Social Work With Communities 265
Forming Coalitions Within Different Ethnocultural Communities 267
Fostering Cultural Competence in Agencies and Among Staff 269
chapter 13
chapter 14
Key Concepts 272
Discussion Questions 272
Culturally Grounded Community-Based Helping 273
Paraprofessionals 274
Culturally Based Helpers and Healers 275
Assessing Clients’ Connections to Traditional Healing Beliefs and Practices 283
Key Concepts 284
Discussion Questions 284
Social Policy and Culturally Grounded Social Work 285
Distributive Justice 285
The Welfare State 287
Affirmative Action 291
Americans With Disabilities Act 294
School Resegregation 295
Immigration Policies 297
The Role of Social Workers in Policy 299
Key Concepts 301
Discussion Questions 301
chapter 15
Culturally Grounded Evaluation and Research 302
Outcome Assessment and Accountability 303
Evaluation and Research 304
Culturally Grounded Research Questions, Measures, and Designs 306
Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice 315
Developing Knowledge About Different Cultures 319
Key Concepts 319
Discussion Questions 320
chapter 16
Culturally Grounded Social Work and Globalization 321
Globalization and Social Work 323
The Practitioner–Researcher as the Insider and the Outsider 326
Key Concepts 329
Discussion Questions 329
references 331
index 381
LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES, BOX, AND NOTES FROM THE FIELD
F igures
1.1. The culturally grounded practice continuum 18
4.1. Life expectancy at age 25 years, by sex and education level: United States, 2011 67
4.2. Percentage of the population whose self-reported health status is not excellent or good 69
4.3. Mortality ratio by individuals and household income 72
4.4. Social determinants of health 73
4.5. Child poverty rates in high-income countries, 2012 80
10.1. Prevalence of same-sex sexual behavior, desire, and identity among US adults 217
10.2. Percentage of US households comprised of same-sex couples 219
11.1. Medicine wheel 244
14.1. Who is receiving entitlement benefits? 288
T ables
6.1. Level of fit between reviewed theories and the culturally grounded approach 129
7.1. Psychosocial protective factors for children 134
11.1. Comparison of cultural norms and values 242
b ox
10.1. The heterosexual questionnaire 212
N o T es F rom T he F ield
1.1. The Long Bus Ride to School 20
1.2. Starting Out on the Wrong Foot 23
1.3. Reaching Out to Cambodian Youths 23
1.4. Same-Sex Love and Immigration 26
2.1. We Told You So 32
2.2. An Integrated Healing System 33
2.3. Why Can’t I Find Mr. Right? 37
2.4. Don’t You Like My Kids? 44
3.1. Who Is Manuel? 48
3.2. Discussing Female Sexuality 56
3.3. Addressing Unseen Wounds 59
3.4. “Don’t Talk About Me as if I Am Not in the Room” 60
4.1. Finding the Funds 74
4.2. Hard Choices 75
4.3. Revolving Door 76
5.1. Only the Strong Survive 102
5.2. growing Pains 107
5.3. Mothers Supporting Mothers 110
6.1. R-E-S-P-E-C-T 122
6.2. Choosing to Live Outside 123
7.1. What’s the Matter With Jane? 144
7.2. Individual or Family Sessions? 147
7.3. Don’t Rock the Boat! 151
7.4. Immigrant Labor Rights 151
8.1. This Is Our Land 161
8.2. Walking to Avoid Suspicion 168
8.3. Fighting for Infrastructure 173
9.1. Life After Death 184
9.2. While You Were Away 187
9.3. Examining the Past to Change the Future 198
9.4. The Mothers of East Los Angeles 199
10.1. Who Says We Can’t Do It? 220
10.2. Being a gay Man in the Military 222
10.3. Planning for the Worst 234
11.1. Family Stereotypes 242
11.2. Speaking With Our Hands 245
11.3. Who Is Family? 247
11.4. Recognizing Latinx Diversity 249
11.5. “No, Thank You” 250
11.6. Saying Adios 251
12.1. Let Her Soul Rest in Peace 262
12.2. Missing School 265
List of Figures, Tables, Box, and Notes From the Field
12.3. Maya Perez’s Community Social Work 266
12.4. Doña Matilde’s Stamp of Approval 270
13.1. Hoˈ oponopono 277
13.2. Save Our Sisters 279
13.3. More Condoms, Please! 281
14.1. Starting a Dialogue 296
14.2. Keeping an Eye on the Legislature 298
14.3. Saturday Night’s Not All Right for Fighting 300
15.1. Remembering Clients’ Needs 305
15.2. HIV Prevention 311
PREFACE
This book introduces a culturally grounded approach to social work practice. It explores cultural diversity and its relationship to oppression and transformative action in the context of social work education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The book was born in part out of the need for a text that explicitly addresses the dynamic intersectionalities among identities based on race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social class, religion, and ability status. The culturally grounded perspective presented here aims at making accessible culturally specific ways of helping that are not generally part of mainstream social work practice methods. In these pages, we present the social worker as a learner and as an advocate capable of integrating community assets as the foundation for any intervention.
Most social work programs infuse cultural diversity content throughout their courses, and many require students to take courses that specifically examine cultural diversity, oppression, and race and ethnicity. We have participated in the design of diversity-specific courses and currently teach a course entitled Diversity and Oppression in the Social Work Context. This book emerged out of these teaching experiences, the burgeoning literature on the subject, findings from our own culturally grounded professional practice and research, and the shared perspectives gained from dialogue with students, community members, and colleagues. The book attempts to improve social work practice by breaking through the compartmentalized methods that we currently use to teach social work practice, policy, and research.
Because many readers are members or allies of oppressed groups who often travel across real or imaginary cultural boundaries, these materials are presented not out of a postcolonial need to explain identity groups to the uninformed, but rather as a means of viewing cultural diversity as a strength within current social work practice. We have purposely attempted to avoid the laundry-list approach of reviewing one by one all cultural groups and identities. That method runs the risk of omitting, underemphasizing, or overemphasizing certain groups. Instead, we stress concepts that are applicable in a variety of social contexts and with different cultural communities while at the same time reviewing core cultural norms of selected groups as illustrations or examples of those concepts.
Increasingly, social work circles and allied professions approach culturally grounded social work as a form of practice deliberately embedded in the culture of the client. Over time, this approach has emerged as an indigenous alternative response to Eurocentric approaches to social work that rely on an implicit Westernized belief that there can and should be a mainstream, standardized, and culturally neutral form of practice, one that focuses on the materialistic and individual aspects of human beings (Schiele, 1997). Culturally grounded social work is firmly rooted in the rich soil of culture in all of its manifestations. This book facilitates a process of gaining awareness about the nutrients present in that fertile ground and suggests attitudes and behaviors for culturally grounded social work practice.
Although the point of departure and key focus of this book is ethnicity and race, the text infuses crosscutting content on gender, sexual orientation, ability status, and social class. The main purpose of this integration is to advance the concept of intersectionality—that is, the belief that humans form identities that are culturally multidimensional and beautifully complex. For example, at an intake interview, a European American female social worker forms initial impressions of Sharon as a middle-class African American heterosexual woman, but learns that she identifies herself as Afro-Caribbean lesbian. Sharon wants to discuss the pressure she feels to define herself according to society’s rigid classifications of race, gender, and sexual orientation. By listening to her story, the social worker starts to understand who Sharon is and honestly questions, revises, and dismisses the preconceived ideas or labels she initially imposed on her client.
This book is as much about social workers as it is about the people they work with, but the clients are the focus of the inquiry. It is the social worker rather than the consumer or client who is “the other”—not to induce guilt, but as an exercise in awareness. This personal awareness enables social workers to overcome obstacles that may arise when there are cultural differences between them and those they work with. Professionals may or may not share the norms and values of the individuals and communities they encounter, but ethically they need to avoid imposing their own values on them and attempt to engage with oppressed and vulnerable populations in a competent, empathetic, and supportive fashion.
Regardless of one’s cultural roots, as products and members of academe, all practitioners are subject to the acculturative effects of higher education. This influence can lead to the adoption of White-, heteronormative-, male-, and middle class–oriented attitudes that can create barriers with their communities of origin and the people they serve. This book provides social workers and allied practitioners with an understanding of the complex intersectionalities of identities through the introduction of culturally grounded social work practice. Adopting an intersectionality lens will help social workers to work effectively in collaboration with individuals and communities from different cultural backgrounds. Throughout the text, readers will ask themselves the existential question, “Who am I?” Answering this question entails an ongoing examination of perceptions of self vis-à-vis one’s clients. Through this journey, social workers will ask themselves how individuals, families, groups, and communities perceive them. Whom, and what, do they represent through their professional interactions? Issues of race, ethnicity, social class, gender, sexual orientation, and ability status—both their own status and that of their clients—are key factors
that influence how they answer these questions. This self-awareness also helps practitioners maintain their honesty and professional competency.
This text invites readers to see themselves as agents of change in partnership with individuals, groups, and communities. To help readers embrace such a role fully and competently, the text delves into the history and contemporary experiences of selected communities. Oppression and inequality provide the essential context in which culturally grounded social work practice takes place. Social work as a profession helps individuals and communities move toward liberation in the manner advocated by the Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire—that is, by recognizing both the roots of the oppression and the collective and individual resources for social action and lasting change.
We approach culture as a source of individual and community strength and as the wellspring of identity, which nurtures humans on their individual and collective journeys. Culture is also a lens through which people understand their lives, needs, and possibilities, and a framework through which they construct their dreams and gain the support necessary to make them a reality. Culture may also contain restrictions, constraints, and negative messages that can become the basis for differentiation, scapegoating, and oppression. Effective practitioners approach the cultural views and beliefs of their clients with honest curiosity. They see cultural differences not as a barrier to be overcome, bypassed, altered, or finessed, but instead as a needed resource to be tapped by the professional in order to achieve effective social work practice. In situations in which cultural narratives are perpetuating oppressive norms and values, the social worker’s role is to invite clients to examine more deeply the foundation or genesis of their cultural assumptions.
In Western societies, the word “culture” is commonly associated with tangible objects or artifacts. For example, an impressionist painting or a European opera is considered high culture, while reality television shows and popular music are seen as examples of low culture. We approach culture in a more expansive way, as a very dynamic and collective process. Culture inspires and connects people, it is spoken and unspoken, and it is preserved and passed on through symbols and symbolism. It needs boundaries to survive and to be identifiable. Its boundaries, however, are dynamic and are constantly shifting, sometimes producing new sets of insiders and outsiders. Culture requires interpretation and a context for those interpretations; it needs a community in order to exist and transform itself. Culture is so pervasive that it is a constant factor in the social worker–client relationship.
In our postmodern times, we understand culture as a multidimensional and multilayered phenomenon—as the sum of many levels of meaning. An individual’s culture is the result of the intersection of factors such as race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability status, acculturation status, immigration status, religion, and social class. Cultures have a history and share narratives about their origins and their present. For that reason, it is important to examine the oppression of non-dominant culture groups from historical and sociological perspectives. An outsider seeking basic information about an individual’s cultural background may perceive intersectionality as a confusing web of meanings that do not always align. The outsider may ask, “What—or which group—are you?” The question presumes the existence of simplistic unidimensional labels that capture a person’s identity. Intersectionality, however, requires a different type of question: “Who are you?” This
question goes beyond old labels and honors the ways in which people explain and make sense of their lives, identities, and intersectionalities. Every individual is the product of a complex collection of identities that draw from many different types of heritages and from membership in different social groups. Individuals then make sense and reconcile these identities in unique ways. The pronoun “who” is a reminder that individuals are not objects and that it is through culture and their narratives that they become fully and uniquely human.
An anti-oppressive social work stance also challenges us to ask ourselves, “For what purpose?” Too often, social work interventions merely address the individual symptoms of a much larger structural issue. To address oppression, social workers look past its observable consequences (e.g., depression, unemployment, domestic violence) to address larger structural elements that maintain inequality. By identifying oppressive conditions in partnership with communities, culturally grounded social work facilitates real and lasting social change that builds a more just society. Culturally grounded social work shares much with the anti-oppressive practice (AOP) model, which has been widely used in Australia, Canada, England, and other countries of the Commonwealth since the 1970s (Dominelli, 1998), as well as more recently in the United States (Hines, 2012). AOP aims at the “eradication of oppression through institutional and societal changes” (Sakamoto & Pitner, 2005, p. 436). Our proposed approach shares with AOP an emphasis on the unique cultural and historical experiences of communities and individuals in the conceptualization of social work practice and research (graham, Shier, & Brownlee, 2012).
Cultural identity formation is a process or journey through which individuals integrate their contextual experiences within their communities of origin and communities of choice. We present social work practice as having a liberating role when it operates in partnership with oppressed cultural communities at the micro, mezzo, and macro ecological levels. This book highlights the multiple layers of meaning and the ever-changing nature of culture. It rejects static definitions of culture based on labels and outsiders’ perspectives of “what” the other is. Instead, it proposes a narrative approach whereby the professional learns how to listen and comes to understand step by step “who” the client is.
Traditional ways of labeling or describing a person’s culture, such as referring to an individual’s race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability status, or social class, are reflections or products of a social structure that produces privilege and oppression. At the same time, these characteristics of individuals are key sources of identity, peoplehood, and support. We encourage social work and other allied professions to embrace the “who” paradigm and, in partnership with communities, overcome the “what” paradigm that deters change and perpetuates oppression. Labels imposed from the outside can be a source of oppression, while the embrace of identities can be a source of strength and can carry the promise of liberation.
We present information about selected communities and identity groups while examining attitudes toward difference and culturally specific professional attitudes and behaviors. The text provides both theoretical foundations and specific approaches for a humanistic social work practice that recognizes the strengths and resiliency inherent in the cultures of individuals, groups, and communities.
The overall aims of this book are
1. To provide a foundation for culturally grounded social work practice;
2. To explain how the intersectionality of social factors affects the client;
3. To foster an understanding of how the intersectionality of factors affects the social worker;
4. To strengthen critical thinking skills to better understand ourselves, other individuals, communities, and the broader society; and
5. To provide readers with the knowledge and skills needed to move beyond cultural awareness into social action and change.
The content of this book is organized into four main areas: (1) an introduction to the culturally grounded approach, (2) a review of the key theories on which the approach rests, (3) an exploration of key identity factors, and (4) an application of the culturally grounded approach to the social work profession.
We present examples and illustrations of key concepts throughout the text. The purpose of these case studies is to promote critical thinking and integration of knowledge. These case studies can be used to conduct small-group class exercises or for individual reflection. This is a possible discussion guide:
1. Summarize the content. What does it say?
2. Share your reactions to the material, both intellectual (e.g., vis-à-vis new or old knowledge, confusion, stimulation) and emotional (e.g., anger, sadness, happiness, validation).
3. Universalize the content. What are the broad implications of this content for the broader society and for specific communities and groups?
4. Personalize the content. What are the applications and implications for you as an individual and as a professional?
5. Discuss other social work practice, policy, and research implications.
We encourage readers to integrate the content of this book by asking themselves throughout, “How do the concepts and issues presented here apply to the communities I am working with?” Further, we encourage you to use your own personal experiences and the narratives you collect from your work with diverse communities as the compass that guides your efforts to become a culturally grounded practitioner.
This book is a tool among many other tools for exploring the richness of cultural identities. The dynamic nature of culture challenges us to be aware of and open to changing ideas about diversity in our communities. As society evolves, oppressed communities identify and implement new ways to embrace and to give voice to their shared identities. As a result, the words and labels that describe the communities can change over time, reflecting new understandings of the common sources of their identities, expanded categories of membership, and empowerment within the communities to define who they are.
Members of the same community may self-identify in more than one way. For example, among Latinx in the United States, some members may prefer to self-identify as Hispanic, Chicana/Chicano, Mexican American, or Latinx, focusing on cultural, historical, or political roots. The emergence and widespread adoption of LgBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning) to refer to sexual and gender minorities explicitly
recognizes with each letter the diversity of the community. Many core identities develop and solidify during adolescence and young adulthood; this can create generational differences in how members of the same communities define themselves. As many communities reclaim the power to determine how they self-identify, rather than accepting terms imposed on them from outside, we become more fully and acutely aware of how oppressive labels are. One lesson for practitioners is to listen closely and honor how clients self-identify and be attentive to language and terms that cause discomfort or offense. When we come from outside the community, we may fear that we will offend clients because of a lack of familiarity with the community and changes in the preferred terms for describing identities. While honoring those feelings, it is important to maintain a focus on the client’s struggles, not our own, and allow the clients to narrate their identity journeys.
As authors of this book, we are aware that terms that we employ to describe members of oppressed communities may be lacking or even offensive to some. Language can be inadequate in finding terms that are short and descriptive, yet encompass the diversity within the community, match current understanding of the community’s position in society, and reflect how members of the community actually think of themselves. If we use a term that is uncomfortable for you as a reader, please let us know about it. You may also consider it an opportunity for an open discussion in class. For example, we use the term Latinx to refer to all people of Latin American or Hispanic ancestry living in the United States. Because the Spanish language is gender sensitive, when we refer only to females we use the term Latina/s, and for males we use Latino/s. When referring to members of the community in general, regardless of their gender, we decided to use the gender neutral and more inclusive term Latinx rather than some alternatives used commonly in the recent past, such as Latino/a or Latinos/ as. We encourage you to explore the origins of different terms and how members of the community, over time, have embraced, altered, replaced, or rejected them. When possible, we use more than one term to refer to a specific group in an attempt to honor different perspectives.
As part of our emphasis on intersectionality, we approach identity formation as a personal journey within a specific community. A process often shaped by membership in multiple communities, whether defined around ethnicity/race, gender, sexual orientation, social class, religion, or ability status. In a rapidly evolving field of study, we know that this edition does not cover all terms or perspectives on identity and diversity. We aim, however, to be as inclusive as possible and have made a concerted effort to incorporate emerging empowering language. Please, keep the communication channels open. We appreciate your feedback and take every comment and suggestion seriously. Thank you! We wish you a fruitful journey.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to acknowledge the students and our community partners of Arizona State University; our ongoing dialogue with them continues to inform and enrich each new edition of this book. We warmly welcome our new coauthor and collaborator, Dr. Stephanie Lechuga-Peña—her perspectives and enthusiasm for the topic have greatly enriched the book. We also thank our research assistant Kevin Parkinson, who helped us update many citations throughout the book. We thank our publisher, Oxford University Press, for making our book available to a larger readership and for helping to keep us focused and current.
Many colleagues and graduate assistants have also provided ongoing support over the years. We especially wish to thank our dedicated former graduate student Dr. Jaime Booth and colleague Dr. Monica Parsai for their support with the second edition. Other reviewers and supporters during the first edition were Dr. David Becerra, Myriam Hillin, Jennifer Jacobson, Dr. Julieann Nagoshi, Veronica Peña, Dr. Jason Castillo, Dr. Kathryn Shahan, Evelyn Hawkins, Robert Dr. Leighninger, Dr. Ben Robinson, Ellie Yepez, and Dr. Paz Zorita. We also acknowledge David Follmer, our dear friend and our original publisher from Lyceum Books. In closing, we would like to recognize Dr. Howard goldstein, Dr. Eugene Litwak, and Dr. Debora Ortega, whose mentorship early in our careers at Case Western Reserve University, Columbia University, and the University of Denver expanded our lens, appreciation, and toolkit for studying cultural diversity.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Flavio Francisco Marsiglia (PhD, Case Western Reserve University; MSW, Universidad de la República-Uruguay) is Regents’ Professor and Distinguished Foundation Professor of Cultural Diversity and Health in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. He is the director of the global Center for Appltute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funds his Mexico-based research program. He is also the Principal Investigator of the U54 Specialized Center of the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center (SIRC), funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) of the NIH.
Dr. Marsiglia has conducted research on culturally grounded interventions on substance abuse prevention with youths and on other culturally specific social and health services. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and presents regularly at national and international conferences.
Dr. Marsiglia has received many awards and recognitions. In 2018, the Society for Prevention Research selected him and his collaborators in Mexico and in the United States to receive the International Prevention Research Collaboration Award. He was the recipient of a Fulbright Specialist Fellowship in Seville, Spain, and received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to health and mental health research and practice from the National Association of Social Workers’ Foundation. He is a member of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.
Stephen S. Kulis (PhD, MA, Columbia University) is professor of sociology in the School of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University, and an affiliated faculty member in the School of Social Work, the Justice and Social Inquiry program, and the Women and gender Studies program. He is the director of research at the global Center for Applied Health Research and is the Principal Investigator of the research training core of the U54 Specialized Center under the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center, funded by the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health. His research has focused on cultural processes in health disparities, such as the role
