TY - JOUR
T1 - The risk of assimilating? Alcohol use among immigrant and U.S.-born Mexican youth
AU - Warner, Tara D.
AU - Fishbein, Diana H.
AU - Krebs, Christopher P.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (Grant # R01 DA15935). Points of view are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. We express our gratitude for the critical contributions of our technical staff, including Joseph Nofziger and Nancy Trevarthen, and our project staff, including Barbara Flannery and Jane Hammond, as well as the Cicero Public School System, and give special thanks to David F. Warner and the anonymous reviewers for comments on an earlier draft. We also acknowledge the conscientious work of the RTI Institutional Review Board for ensuring study integrity and human subject safety.
PY - 2010/1
Y1 - 2010/1
N2 - Rising rates of substance use among Hispanic youth, coupled with substantial growth of this minority group, merit grounds for concern. The process of assimilation is frequently examined in studies of Hispanic substance use and has been cited as a reason for higher rates of substance use by U.S.-born Hispanics, compared to their foreign-born peers. However, many previous studies use individual or unidimensional measures of assimilation, when this term is multifaceted, representing different concepts. The current study addresses this gap by testing the longitudinal effect of different assimilation processes (acculturation as well as structural, spatial, and straight-line assimilation), while simultaneously controlling for important familial and social risk and protective factors on the likelihood of alcohol use among U.S.-born Mexican and Mexican immigrant youth. Results indicate that, although alcohol use is higher among immigrant youth, assimilation measures do not predict alcohol use for immigrants or U.S.-born youth. We conclude that the effects of assimilation may vary by person and place, particularly in ethnic enclaves, and suggest the use of measures that incorporate cultural, personal, social, and environmental factors.
AB - Rising rates of substance use among Hispanic youth, coupled with substantial growth of this minority group, merit grounds for concern. The process of assimilation is frequently examined in studies of Hispanic substance use and has been cited as a reason for higher rates of substance use by U.S.-born Hispanics, compared to their foreign-born peers. However, many previous studies use individual or unidimensional measures of assimilation, when this term is multifaceted, representing different concepts. The current study addresses this gap by testing the longitudinal effect of different assimilation processes (acculturation as well as structural, spatial, and straight-line assimilation), while simultaneously controlling for important familial and social risk and protective factors on the likelihood of alcohol use among U.S.-born Mexican and Mexican immigrant youth. Results indicate that, although alcohol use is higher among immigrant youth, assimilation measures do not predict alcohol use for immigrants or U.S.-born youth. We conclude that the effects of assimilation may vary by person and place, particularly in ethnic enclaves, and suggest the use of measures that incorporate cultural, personal, social, and environmental factors.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2009.07.001
DO - 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2009.07.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 20161417
AN - SCOPUS:70449535528
SN - 0049-089X
VL - 39
SP - 176
EP - 186
JO - Social Science Research
JF - Social Science Research
IS - 1
ER -
