Clinical Diversity in a Randomized Trial that Explicitly Sought Racial/Ethnic Diversity in its Sample: Baseline Comparisons in a Treatment of Youth Substance Use and Posttraumatic Stress

Abstract

Objective: For more than two decades, federal agencies have sought to address a persistent lack of inclusion of Black, Latinx, Asian, and indigenous peoples in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), often with an underlying hypothesis that such efforts will increase diversity across clinically-relevant dimensions. We examined racial/ethnic and clinical diversity, including racial/ethnic differences in prior service access and symptom dimensions, in an RCT focusing on trauma-related mental health and substance use among adolescents.

Method: Participants were 140 adolescents in an RCT of Reducing Risk through Family Therapy. Recruitment followed several recommendations for enhancing diversity. Structured interviews examined trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms, substance use, service utilization, and demographics.

Results: Non-Latinx (NL) Black youth were more likely to receive mental health services for the first time and have greater trauma exposure, but less likely to report symptoms of depression (ps < .05) relative to NL White youth. Relevant caregiver differences included that NL Black caregivers were more likely to be unemployed and looking for work (p < .05) despite having similar levels of education relative to NL White caregivers (p > .05).

Conclusion: Results suggest that efforts to expand racial/ethnic diversity in an RCT of combined substance use and trauma-focused mental health may also expand other clinical dimensions. Many of these differences reflect multiple dimensions of racism experienced by NL Black families that clinicians must attend to.