A new ASU research center is studying how children who stay close to their cultures are able to avoid drugs and remain healthy.
The Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center through the School of Social Work is attempting to respond to the unique needs and improve the health of the cultures in the Southwest.
The center focuses on Mexican and American Indian cultures in the Southwest.
"We look at family acculturation through communication between parents and children and the child's health outcome," said Flavio Marsiglia, director of the center. "When Latino families speak Spanish and have their own culture, the communication is better and children do better.
"We want to study and understand why that happens."
The center's main areas of research are substance abuse, HIV, AIDS and mental health, but it is working on other studies as well.
"Keeping it Real," a drug intervention program for elementary and junior high students, was developed at the center six years ago and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Researchers interviewed seventh graders in nearby schools to see what methods are most effective at helping students resist drugs. Researchers then produced an intervention where they developed a lesson plan and trained teachers to show students how to stay drug-free.
The center received another grant two years ago to do the same study with fifth graders in the community.
Marsiglia said the federal government program named the program a national and international model for intervention.
"Most children don't use drugs, but most who do just can't say no," he said. "We provide students with the right tools to say no."
Collaboration and research is also conducted internationally with Mexico and Spain.
"Arizona is so close to the [Mexican] border that it's important to consider people in Mexico and how the close border affects people here," Marsiglia said.
Mexico has adapted the center's intervention program, and Spain is hoping to do the same soon.
The center is taking on ambitious projects since its approval on Jan. 28 by the Arizona Board of Regents. It will receive annual funding from the Arizona budget to continue its research, Marsiglia said.
"Professors are asked to do a lot, but we need to provide support for them to be successful," he said. "They can be creative and innovative in their research through a sense of community."
Jeffrey Chapman, interim dean of the College of Public Programs, said the center performs high-quality research and thinks the center is a great idea.
"[The center] attracts different faculty from across campus," he said. "There is a variety of viewpoints and insights that faculty can contribute to one another."
Reach the reporter at courtney.bonnell@asu.edu.
