Adolescent drug use in Mexico and among Mexican American adolescents in the United States: Environmental influences and individual characteristics.

Félix-Ortiz, María; Velázquez, Jorge Ameth Villatoro; Medina‐Mora, María Elena; Newcomb, Michael D.

doi:10.1037/1099-9809.7.1.27

Cited by 41 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…While use of illicit substances is a growing problem among Mexican youth, it remains at much lower levels than use of alcohol and tobacco and generally is less prevalent than among youth in the U.S. (Latimer et al 2004;Felix-Ortiz et al 2001 Rates of use (especially of alcohol and tobacco) are higher among adolescents from higher socioeconomic status homes and those with drug using family members and friends.…”

Section: Nih-pa Author Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One third of Mexican adolescents report they have easy access to illicit drugs, and such access is positively correlated with substance use among both male and female adolescents (Felix-Ortiz et al 2001 ; evidence of a similar trend has begun to appear in Mexico, at least in certain regions, among younger age groups, and for some substances (Medina-Mora et al 2006). A large random sample of Mexico City students in middle and secondary schools found tobacco and alcohol use to be equally prevalent among males and females, although use of marijuana remained substantially more common among males (Villatoro et al 2005).…”

Section: Nih-pa Author Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are most often introduced to illicit drug use through offers by friends or acquaintances, at parties or other places where adolescents may gather such as a parks or night clubs, and much less often by a drug dealer or stranger (Medina-Mora et al 2001;Nuno-Gutierrez and Flores-Palacios 2004;TapiaConyer et al 2003;Wagner et al 2003). Friends greatly outnumber strangers as the source of illicit drug offers (Medina-Mora et al 2001); among Mexican adolescents who use illicit drugs, two-thirds of the males and over half of the females report that they first obtained the drugs from a friend . Compared to their counterparts in the U.S., Mexican adolescents report frequent access to alcohol at supervised and family settings.…”

Section: Sources Of Substance Offers Among Mexican Youthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alcohol is the substance used most commonly by Mexican youth, the majority of whom report having used alcohol by age 18 (Herrera-Vazquez et al 2004;Felix-Ortiz et al 2001;Latimer et al 2004;Villatoro et al 1998). The prevalence and amount of alcohol use has been increasing among Mexican adolescents , and their rates of alcohol consumption exceed those of U.S. adolescents (Felix-Ortiz et al 2001). About half of Mexican students in secondary schools report lifetime use of alcohol, one-third report alcohol use in the prior year, 15% report use in the past month, and four percent of males and one percent of females report binge drinking on a weekly basis (Jernigan 2001).…”

Section: Substance Use Among Mexican Youth and Its Correlatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drug Resistance Strategies and Substance Use among Adolescents in Monterrey, Mexico

et al. 2008

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This study examined drug resistance strategies and substance use among adolescents from Monterrey, Mexico. The focus was strategies that U.S. adolescents use most often to resist using substances, including refuse (saying no), explain (declining with an explanation), avoid (staying away from situations where drugs are offered), and leave (exiting situations where drugs are offered). Using self-administered questionnaire data from a convenience sample of 327 Mexican students enrolled at two secondary schools (preparatorias), we tested whether frequent use of particular drug resistance strategies predicted actual substance use. Multiple regression results showed that different strategies were effective for different substances, that some effects were mediated by number of offers received, and that certain effects were stronger for females than for males. Students using the refuse strategy reported less cigarette use and less binge drinking; those using the avoid strategy reported less alcohol and cigarette use; and those using the leave strategy reported less binge drinking and, for females only, less marijuana use. Use of the explain strategy was not significantly related to substance use after controlling for use of other strategies. Findings are discussed in terms of Mexican cultural values and their implications for the design of prevention programs for Mexican youth. KeywordsAdolescents; Substance use; Substance use offers; Mexican youth; Drug resistance Research on substance use among Mexican youth provides growing evidence that prevalence rates, the types of substances used, social risk factors for use, and the health and social problems associated with use are assuming patterns similar to those reported by youth Correspondence to: Stephen Kulis, Kulis@asu.edu. (Medina-Mora Cravioto 2003;Villatoro et al. 2004). Of growing concern are increases in illicit drug use among Mexican youth, who until recently have consistently reported lower rates of consumption of illicit drugs than U.S. youth, and a decrease in the typical age of initiation of substance use from 15 to 8 years of age (FelixOrtiz et al. 2001; Tapia-Conyer et al. 2001;Villareal et al. 2004;Villatoro et al. 1998). NIH Public AccessDespite the upward trend in drug use among Mexican youth and expanding research on its etiology, there are large gaps in the knowledge needed to inform the design of effective prevention efforts in Mexico. One relatively neglected research area is the strategies that Mexican adolescents actually use when confronted with substance use opportunities and the relative effectiveness of these strategies for resisting use of different substances. This study investigated whether the strategies used most commonly by U.S. adolescents to resist offers of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are used with apparent success by Mexican youth, and whether use of particular strategies depends on the gender of the youth and the frequency with which the youth encounters offers of substances. We used data from a sample of Mexican secondar...

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Section: Nih-pa Author Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nih-pa Author Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sources Of Substance Offers Among Mexican Youthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Substance Use Among Mexican Youth and Its Correlatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drug Resistance Strategies and Substance Use among Adolescents in Monterrey, Mexico

et al. 2008

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“…For women, a sense of responsibility acts as a protective factor against substance use and is related to substance refusals (Kulis et al, , 2008b. Females are much less likely to be to be offered such substances as marijuana (Caris et al, 2009); other substances, specifi cally tobacco, are less available to them, leading to lower substance use rates (Félix-Ortiz et al, 2001). This lack of availability and offers may be because of cultural norms in which families are more protective of daughters, resulting in fewer opportunities to use, and norms prescribing less acceptability for women using substances than men.…”

Section: Gender Differencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drug Resistance and Substance Use Among Male and Female Adolescents in Alternative Secondary Schools in Guanajuato, Mexico

Kulis

Marsiglia

Ayers

et al. 2012

J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs

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ABSTRACT. Objective:Research is limited on the strategies that Mexican adolescents use to resist use of alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs. Cultural norms and gender socialization patterns concerning the acceptability of use of various substances by women and men infl uence Mexican youths in their responses to offers of substances. This study explored the drug-resistance strategies used by youth in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, how their use predicted patterns of substance use, and how these associations differed by gender. Method: The analysis used cross-sectional survey data from 702 (60% male) students enrolled in eight alternative secondary education school sites in 2007. Participants reported the drug-resistance behaviors they used to deal with offers of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana. Past-12-month use of the four drug-resistance strategies employed most often by U.S. youth-refuse, explain, avoid, and leave (R.E.A.L.)-and any other strategies were measured. Composite measures of lifetime and recent use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana were predicted in multivariate ordinary least squares regression analyses. Models were tested with and without controls for the frequency that respondents were offered substances and introduced gender interaction effects. Results: Controlling for substance use offers, more frequent use of a wide repertoire of R.E.A.L. strategies predicted less consumption of alcohol and cigarettes, and using non-R.E.A.L. strategies predicted less marijuana consumption. All of these relationships were either stronger for males than for females or signifi cant for males only. Conclusions: Gender differences exist in the impact of R.E.A.L. strategies on substance use among youth in Mexico. Despite a narrowing gender gap in substance use in Mexico, large exposure to and susceptibility of substance use remains. Developing effective prevention programs in Mexico based on teaching appropriate drug-resistance strategies and enhancing communication skills could aid in reducing substance use among Mexican adolescents. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 73, 111-119, 2012)

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Comorbidity: Depression and Substance Abuse

Medina‐Mora¹,

Guiot²,

Borges³

et al. 2008

Issues in Children's and Families' Lives

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Adolescent drug use in Mexico and among Mexican American adolescents in the United States: Environmental influences and individual characteristics.

Cited by 41 publications

References 16 publications

Drug Resistance Strategies and Substance Use among Adolescents in Monterrey, Mexico

Drug Resistance Strategies and Substance Use among Adolescents in Monterrey, Mexico

Drug Resistance and Substance Use Among Male and Female Adolescents in Alternative Secondary Schools in Guanajuato, Mexico

Comorbidity: Depression and Substance Abuse

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