Cultural Adaptations to Youth Mental Health Interventions: A Systematic Review

Disparities in mental health care access and use are a serious public health concern for racial and ethnic minority (REM) youth populations across the United States (US). Numerous evidence-based interventions (EBIs) have been developed to address youth mental health concerns; however, evidence suggests that EBIs may require cultural adaptations to have greater efficacy with REM populations. The following study engaged in a systematic review of the existing culturally-adapted EBIs for REM youth in the US. A three-stage systematic review was performed. A total of 52 studies describing the development or evaluation of culturally-adapted EBIs with REM youth populations were included. Information from studies was then abstracted via a rigorous coding process. Specifically, participant characteristics (e.g., age, population risk, race/ethnicity of target audience), intervention characteristics (e.g., name of the original program, target mental health outcome(s), delivery setting, intervention format, intervention orientation, interventionist), and cultural adaptation characteristics (e.g., guiding theory, individuals involved, cultural adaptation content, participatory methods used) were cataloged. Implications for current and future research regarding cultural adaptation of EBIs are presented.