Acculturation status and heavy alcohol use among Mexican American college students: investigating the moderating role of gender

We examined whether gender moderates the association between acculturation and heavy alcohol use. The sample consisted of 126 Mexican American college students (Mean age=24.7 years; 57% female) who completed self-report measures of heavy alcohol use, acculturation status (global acculturation and ethnic identity), and relevant control variables (age, peer alcohol use). Multivariable regression revealed that higher levels of ethnic identity were associated with greater frequency of heavy alcohol among men. Conversely, neither measure of acculturation was associated with heavy alcohol use among women. These findings suggest that interventions for Latino/a students should consider the role of culturally relevant variables in heavy alcohol use, particularly for men. They also have implications regarding how acculturation is operationalized in alcohol studies, and suggest directions for future research.     

The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): the association between acculturation, birthplace and alcohol consumption across Hispanic national groups

Acculturation to U.S. society has been associated with an increase in drinking and binge drinking among Hispanics. This paper examines the association between acculturation and three drinking-related outcomes: average number of drinks consumed, binge drinking, and drinking 12 drinks or more in a single day in four major Hispanic national groups. The 2006 Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey used a multistage cluster sample design to interview 5224 adult Hispanics (18+ years) in five selected U.S. metropolitan areas: Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles. The four national groups interviewed were: Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, Mexican Americans, and South/Central Americans. The survey response rate was 76%. Data on drinking behavior were collected and the analyses include bivariate and multivariate regression techniques. Multivariate analysis did not show an association between acculturation and volume of drinking, binge drinking, or drinking 12 or more drinks in a single day among men. Acculturation stress, however, was associated with drinking 12 or more in a day among men. Among women, high acculturation was associated with a higher volume of drinking, and it also interacted with national group to increase the likelihood of binge drinking. Acculturation does not have a homogeneous effect on drinking across gender and Hispanic national groups. The results confirm that acculturation has a more consistent association with increased drinking and binge drinking among women than among men. The effect of acculturation is therefore gender-specific. This heterogeneity across Hispanic national groups must be considered in future research, treatment, and prevention efforts.     

Drinking in adulthood: similarities and differences in effects of adult roles for Hispanic ethnic groups and Anglos

OBJECTIVE: This study examines whether the adult social roles perspective. an approach that explains drinking behaviors for Anglos, similarly affects alcohol use by Cubans, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans and Other Hispanics (Central and South Americans). METHOD: The 1993 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, a national probability sample of the household population in the United States, is used. The sample utilized here (N= 13,822; 56.2% female) consisted of 9,388 Anglos, 611 Cubans, 2,459 Mexican Americans, 611 Puerto Ricans and 753 Central/South Americans age 18 and older. The outcome measures include past-year drinking, and for drinkers, heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems. Logistic regression analyses are conducted using Stata. RESULTS: The results show that there are some ethnic differences in the effects of the adult social roles. Of particular importance is the finding that being married has anomalous effects for Cubans (heavy drinking), Mexican Americans (problems) and Other Hispanics (problems) compared with Anglos and the other Hispanic ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS: The adult social roles perspective has some utility for explaining Hispanic drinking patterns. Future research should consider not only traditional predictors of drinking but also such socio-cultural factors as acculturation and familism, to better understand adult alcohol use by members of Hispanic ethnic groups.     

Psychosocial, cultural and genetic influences on alcohol use in Asian American youth

OBJECTIVE: Environmental and cultural factors, as well as a genetic variant of the aldehyde dehydrogenase gene (the ALDH2*2 allele) have been identified as correlates of alcohol use among Asian Americans. However, concurrent examination of these variables has been rare. The present study assessed parental alcohol use, acculturation and ALDH2 gene status in relation to lifetime, current and heavy episodic drinking among Chinese and Korean American undergraduates. METHOD: Participants (N = 428, 51% women; 52% Chinese American, age 18-19 years) were first-year college students in a longitudinal study of substance use initiation and progression. Data were collected via structured interview and self-report, and participants provided a blood sample for genotyping at the ALDH2 locus. RESULTS: Gender, parental alcohol use and acculturation significantly predicted drinking behavior. However, none of the hypothesized moderating relationships were significant. In contrast with previous studies, ALDH2 gene status was not associated with alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that although the variables examined influence alcohol use, moderating effects were not observed in the present sample of Asian American college students. Findings further suggest that the established association of ALDH2 status and drinking behavior in Asians may not be evident in late adolescence. It is possible that ALDH2 status is associated with alcohol consumption only following initiation and increased drinking experience.     

Acculturation and drinking among people of Mexican descent in Mexico and the United States

This article studies the relationships between acculturation and drinking and alcohol-related problems among people of Mexican descent in Mexico and the United States. Subjects in the United States were part of a national probability sample of the Hispanic household population 18 years of age and older. Subjects in Mexico were randomly selected from among adult residents of the city of Morelia and an adjoining rural county, Tarimbaro, both in the State of Michoacan. Both samples were interviewed using the same questionnaire. Response rates were 72% in the United States and 92% in Mexico. Results show that Mexican-American men drink more frequently than men in Michoacan, who, as a group, drink infrequently but consume more often five or more drinks at a sitting as compared with Mexican Americans. Mexican-American women have a lower rate of abstention and a higher rate of women who drink at least once a week and who consume five drinks at a sitting at least once a year than do women in Michoacan. Among men, changes in drinking seem to occur soon after coming to the United States--often within 5 years. Among women, drinking patterns are not related to length of residence in the United States. In spite of less drinking, respondents in Michoacan report more alcohol problems than do Mexican Americans.     

Country of origin, age of drinking onset, and drinking patterns among Mexican American young adults

This study examines relationships between country of origin, age of drinking onset, and adverse drinking outcomes among young adult Mexican Americans in the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Logistic regression models estimate associations between age of drinking onset, age of onset in relation to age at immigration, and adverse drinking outcomes, controlling for sex, age, employment, education, marital status, and income. Adjusted analyses indicate the odds of adverse drinking outcomes decreased as age of drinking onset increased. Mexican Americans who initiated drinking in Mexico had significantly lower odds of current or lifetime harmful drinking than U.S. born but the odds were not significantly different between foreign-born Mexican Americans who initiated drinking in the U.S. and U.S. born. Irrespective of whether drinking onset was in Mexico or the U.S., foreign-born Mexican Americans had lower odds of alcohol abuse than U.S. born. However, odds of dependence were not significantly different between foreign-born and U.S.-born Mexican Americans. While findings suggest that being foreign born may be protective, further research on social and cultural factors impacting drinking onset and related outcomes among young Mexican Americans may help inform prevention efforts.     

Gender and Acculturation in Relation to Alcohol Use among Hispanic (Latino) Adults in Two Areas of the Northeastern United States

Telephone surveys were conducted in English or Spanish for 665 Hispanic adult residents of Long Island (New York) and Connecticut in 1992. Reported alcohol use was higher among men than women. In multivariate analyses using logistic regression, both gender and level of acculturation (positive association) were associated with drinking 1 day or more during the past month and with drinking at least 1 day per week. The association between drinking and acculturation was much stronger among women than men; thus, the gender difference in drinking declined with increasing level of acculturation. Studies are needed to delineate the processes whereby gender and acculturation influence the drinking behavior of Hispanics in different geographic areas.     

Gender differences in drinking behavior among Latino/a heavy drinkers

BackgroundIn the United States (U.S.), higher levels of acculturation have been associated with higher rates of heavy alcohol use more consistently among Latino women than among Latino men. This paper explores mechanisms underlying the link between acculturation and alcohol use among Latino/as in the U.S. We examine alcohol use expectancies and motives from the perspectives of the social cognitive theory of gender development.MethodsQualitative narratives data from six focus groups of individuals (total n = 37), who met criteria for heavy drinking (4/5 drinks/occasion for females/males), were examined separately by gender (18 females; 19 males). Coded narratives data were analyzed using a framework that compared lives in Latin America and in the U.S. Emergent themes were analyzed for their consistency across genders. Gender-specific themes were identified.ResultsChanges in family structure and the loss of social networks prompted divergent patterns of drinking among men and women, such that relative to patterns in their countries of origin, drinking among Latino women increased while it decreased among Latino men. Men and women reported drinking to replace missing social bonds, a motive not frequently reported in the literature on drinking motives. Women who engaged in heavy-drinking nonetheless described traditional gender role expectations after U.S. arrival. Only men endorsed positive alcohol expectancies in Latin America. Women reported drinking to alleviate psychological distress in the U.S.ConclusionsPre and post-immigration comparisons revealed different drinking trajectories among men and women after immigration to the U.S. These patterns appeared to be influenced by new social contexts and changes in familial expectations regarding women’s roles. Future inquiry that examines gender-specific themes in alcohol expectancies and motives unique to the experience of immigration, is warranted.     

The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): the association between birthplace, acculturation and alcohol abuse and dependence across Hispanic national groups

Hispanics are heterogeneous in national origin, evidenced by wide ranges of alcohol abuse and dependence rates across different Hispanic national groups. This paper examines associations between 12-month rates of DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence with birthplace and acculturation. The 2006 Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey, using a multistage cluster sample design, interviewed 5224 adults (18+ years) in five selected U.S. metropolitan areas: Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles. Comprehensive data on drinking behavior were collected and the analyses include bivariate and multivariate regression techniques. Alcohol abuse and dependence rates were higher among U.S.-born Puerto Ricans and South/Central Americans compared to their foreign-born counterparts, while no such differences were found for Cuban and Mexican Americans. Overall, those with higher acculturation report higher rates of abuse and dependence (statistically significant only for abuse among Puerto Ricans). Risk factors for abuse include being male and being in the high acculturation group. Risk factors for dependence include being male, being Puerto Rican or Mexican American, having less than a college education, and being U.S.-born. Hispanics were found to share several common risk factors with the larger U.S. population for abuse and dependence, such as male gender, lower education, and lower income.     

Acculturation and substance use in a Mexican American college student sample

Although the association between acculturation and substance use among Latino groups is important, it is often understudied, especially within specific Latino groups living in geographically distinct communities, such as the Mexican American population in South Texas. The researchers of this study aimed to better understand the effect of acculturation on substance use and alcohol dependence in a Mexican American college student population. This survey study investigated the correlation between acculturation and substance use and dependence by using the Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA), items related to substance use (nicotine, marijuana, and cocaine) in a Mexican American college student sample (N = 1,494), and the Short Alcohol Dependence Data Questionnaire (SADD; N = 715). The study was conducted in the Texas–Mexico border region. The results suggest that higher levels of acculturation do not predict increased drug use or alcohol dependence in the Mexican American college students. However, acculturation was found to be associated with lower use of cocaine and marijuana. The discussion examines commonalities and differences in drug use and dependence. Specifically, acculturation seems to have an inverse relationship to substance use and may serve as a protective factor to licit and illicit drug use among Mexican American college students.     

Alcohol consumption among Mexican American and Anglo women: results of a survey along the U.S.--Mexico border

A household probability survey of 1233 Mexican American women and 798 Anglo women residing along the U.S.-Mexico border was conducted. A higher proportion of abstainers was found among the Mexican Americans than among the Anglos in almost every social and demographic category examined (age, marital status, education and employment status). Because the level of alcohol consumption increased markedly with the years of education completed, almost all of the overall ethnic differences observed could be accounted for by the generally lower level of education among the Mexican Americans. However, ethnic subgroups of Mexican American women reported different levels of alcohol consumption that could not be accounted for by differences in education, suggesting that additional ethnic factors contribute to drinking patterns.     

Gender Differences in Alcohol and Drug Use Among Hispanic Adults: The Influence of Family Processes and Acculturation

We examines the influence of family processes and acculturation for gender differences in alcohol and drug use among a sample representative of the Hispanic population in Miami-Dade County, Florida (N = 734). We found that (a) increases in age at marriage and acculturation were associated with greater substance use, (b) the associations between age at marriage, acculturation, and substance use were found to be greater for Hispanic women than men, and (c) with each additional child born, Hispanic women are increasingly less likely to use substances than Hispanic men. Data reveal that family processes and acculturation jointly impact substance use.     

Comorbidity for alcohol use disorders and drug use in mexican-origin groups: comparison of data from national alcohol surveys in the U.S. And Mexico

The comorbidity, separately, of alcohol dependence and consequences of drinking with illicit drug use is compared between Mexicans and Mexicans Americans, using data from the 1995 and 2000 U.S. National Alcohol Surveys (n = 830) and the 1998 Mexico National Household Survey on Addictions (n = 3313). Among drinkers, comorbidity was significantly more prevalent among Mexican Americans than among Mexicans and was positively associated with level of acculturation among Mexican Americans. Although data may not be generalizable, they are important for a better understanding of cultural influences on the development of comorbid substance abuse* conditions among Mexicans immigrating to the United States and their substance abuse treatment needs.     

“This is the way we were raised”: Alcohol beliefs and acculturation in relation to alcohol consumption among Native Americans

Native Americans have the highest rates of alcohol use in comparison to other ethnic groups, placing them at risk for experiencing alcohol-related problems. The present study examined the beliefs that some Native Americans may have related to alcohol use; specifically, the belief that alcohol is a key component in Native American cultures. To assess these beliefs, we developed the Stereotypical Alcohol Beliefs Scale for Native Americans (SABSNA). The new 20-item measure was administered to 144 individuals who identified as Native American along with a measure of acculturation and other drinking-related measures, including perceived norms, alcohol expectancies, and drinking motives. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that the measure is unidimensional in structure and has excellent internal consistency. SABSNA scores were found to be positively associated with typical week drinking, alcohol expectancies, and drinking motives (social, coping, enhancement, and conformity). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that level of acculturation moderated the association between alcohol beliefs and weekly drinking. Native Americans who identified less with mainstream culture demonstrated a positive association between their cultural alcohol beliefs and their weekly drinking. The findings suggest that alcohol beliefs would be an appropriate additional target for interventions for individuals who are not oriented to the mainstream culture.     

Gender, acculturation, and alcohol consumption among Mexican Americans.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the relationship between level of acculturation and drinking status among Mexican American males and females in three northern California cities. METHOD: The data analyzed were collected through the use of a telephone survey. The sample size is 932. RESULTS: Our results show that acculturation has a direct effect on drinking status for women in the sample but not for men. At low levels of acculturation, our results show the expected difference in drinking status by gender; with high abstention rates for women and low abstention rates for males. At high levels of acculturation there is a convergence in drinking status with females approximating the proportion of male drinkers in the sample. Additionally, acculturation was associated with "heavier" drinking for females while place of birth was associated with "heavier" drinking for males. CONCLUSIONS: Studies of drinking patterns and related problems need to consider these factors.     

Alcohol expectancies and drinking behaviors in Mexican American college students

Research with non-Latinos has shown that alcohol expectancies ("the anticipated effects of alcohol use") are associated with drinking behaviors; however, prior studies have not fully examined such relations in Latino college students. This investigation examines positive alcohol expectancies and their association with contextual drinking and alcohol-related problem behaviors in a sample of 107 Mexican American college students (mean age=25; 54% female) who completed self-report surveys. Results showed that students who endorsed expectancies of physical and social pleasure and increased social assertiveness were likely to engage in frequent heavy drinking and imbibe in less personal settings. Furthermore, gender (being male) and the expectancy of enhanced sexual performance and experience were associated with involvement in risk behaviors due to drinking. This study highlights the link between specific alcohol expectancies and alcohol-related problem behaviors in Mexican American college students. Intervention approaches aimed at modifying drinking expectancies in physical, social, and sexual domains could prove useful in this population.     

Alcohol-related social problems among Mexican Americans living in U.S.-Mexico border and non-border areas

This paper examines alcohol-related social problems among Mexican Americans living along the U.S.-Mexico border and in non-border areas. Interviews were conducted among Mexican Americans in the border regions of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas (N=1307). Non-border respondents were interviewed primarily in Houston and Los Angeles (N=1288) as part of the Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS). Both the border and HABLAS surveys employed multistage cluster sample designs (response rates were 67% and 76%, respectively). In the bivariate analysis, there were no significant differences between border and non-border areas in the proportion of those with one or more social problem. In non-border areas, the prevalence of alcohol problems did not differ significantly by age. However, along the border the prevalence of alcohol problems was significantly different across age groups, with 18 to 29year old men and women having the highest prevalence. The final models showed no residence effect on problem likelihood. Drinking was strongly associated with problems. Although young border residents had higher problem prevalence rates than older residents, the logistic regression models showed no effect of border residence on the likelihood of problems, indicating that problems are due to alcohol consumption, not the border environment. The border, however, did appear to influence more drinking among young people. Regardless of residence, alcohol treatment and preventive interventions tailored to Mexican Americans are essential and special attention should be focused on younger individuals near the border.     

Examining drinking patterns and problems among hispanic groups: results from a national survey

OBJECTIVE: This study examines and compares the drinking patterns and problems of members of four Hispanic groups (Cubans, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics) in the United States, with information presented by gender and age. METHOD: The 1993 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, a recent national probability sample of the household population aged 18 and over in the United States, is used. Data are obtained through in-person interviews. The sample includes 4,462 Hispanics of Cuban (n = 620), Mexican (n = 2,467), Puerto Rican (n = 619) and Central and South American (n = 756) origin. Analyses are conducted using SUDAAN. RESULTS: There are significant differences across the Hispanic groups in their drinking patterns and problems. Among men, Mexican Americans report the most frequent and heavy drinking, and the greatest prevalence of drunkenness and alcohol-related problems. Cubans report the lowest percentages of such respondents, and Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics are in between the other two groups. For women, fewer ethnic differences are evidenced than for men. In general, Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans drink more often and heavily and experience more problems than the other groups. Even after controlling for predictors of adult alcohol use, some ethnic differences in drinking persist. CONCLUSIONS: The four Hispanic groups have different drinking patterns. More research is necessary to determine the factors associated with differences in drinking across Hispanic groups.     

Perceived racial discrimination,heavy episodic drinking,and alcohol abstinence among African American and White college students

Previous research has demonstrated that White college students are more likely to drink alcohol at a greater frequency and quantity compared to their African American counterparts. Examining race-related factors that structure alcohol use among college students remains an important area of research. In this study, we specifically examine perceived discrimination and its association with both heavy episodic drinking (HED) and alcohol abstinence among college students. Items that measured perceived racial discrimination in alcohol use contexts and demographic characteristics were used as independent and control variables. African American students were more likely to abstain from alcohol and less likely to engage in HED compared to their White counterparts. Results also suggest that students who believe their drinking will solicit race-based police bias have lower odds of engaging in HED and greater odds of alcohol abstention. We conclude that unsolicited policing, experienced by African Americans generally, and White Americans on campuses, explains effect sizes.