Intracultural accusations of assimilation and alcohol use severity among Hispanic emerging adults: Moderating effects of acculturation, enculturation, and gender.

Abstract

Individuals, including Hispanics, tend to drink most heavily during emerging adulthood (ages 18-25). Research has suggested that intercultural stressors (e.g., ethnic discrimination) may increase levels of alcohol use among Hispanics. However, the relationship between intracultural stressors (e.g., accusations of assimilation—when Hispanics accuse a member of their heritage group of acculturating to U.S. culture) and alcohol use has been examined to a lesser extent. Accordingly, the present study aimed to (a) examine the association between family accusations of assimilation and alcohol use severity; and (b) examine if acculturation domains, enculturation domains, and gender moderated that association. A hierarchical multiple regression and moderation analyses were conducted on a cross-sectional sample of 181 Hispanic emerging adults. Results indicated that higher family accusations of assimilation were associated with higher levels of alcohol use severity (β = .18, p < .05) and all variables entered in the model accounted for ΔR2 = 15.1% of the variance of alcohol use severity. A moderation analysis indicated that higher family accusations of assimilation were associated with higher alcohol use severity among men, but not women. Of the four acculturation/enculturation domains, none had a moderation effect. However, there was a statistically significant three-way interaction between family accusations of assimilation, gender, and affective enculturation. This three-way interaction suggests that among men, higher family accusations of assimilation were associated with higher alcohol use severity at lower levels of affective enculturation. This study addresses a literature gap on intracultural stressors and substance use among Hispanics, and discusses recommendations for future research.

Acculturation profiles and alcohol use among Hispanic Americans

“…Second, our sample size was not large enough to conduct ethnic-specific analyses in order to systematically examine within-group heterogeneity. Our sample consisted of largely individuals of Mexican backgrounds, thus findings are consistent with those in previous research with Mexican Americans (e.g., Cano, 2016;Cano et al, 2017). Still, different alcohol preferences, drinking norms, and strategies that guard against adverse drinking-related consequences across Hispanic subgroups may explain ethnic variability in the associations between alcohol use and acculturation/enculturation.…”

“…Being more immersed in the mainstream U.S. culture may promote more permissive attitudes and beliefs around health risk behaviors such as alcohol (mis)use (Schwartz et al, 2011). Theory and empirical data have supported a bidimensional conceptualization of the acculturation process: acculturation and enculturation not only are weakly correlated with each other, but also contribute uniquely to psychological outcomes (Berry, 1997;Cano, 2016;Kim & Abreu, 2001;Lorenzo-Blanco et al, 2012. Concerning alcohol use outcomes among Hispanic Americans, a meta-analysis and a narrative review show that acculturation and enculturation may serve as risk and protective factors, respectively Zamboanga et al, 2017).…”

Mental health among Latinx emerging adults: Examining the role of familial accusations of assimilation and ethnic identity

“…Cronbach's α coefficient for this scale was α = 0.87. The intracultural accusations of assimilation subscale possesses adequate internal consistency with Latinx emerging adult samples ( α = 0.82) (Cano, 2016).…”

“…Intragroup marginalization also contributes to confusion about identity and status, adding to the individual's stress (Durkee et al, 2019). Intragroup marginalization may also lead to decreased levels of social support and family cohesion (Cano, 2016).…”

“…For this sample of Latinx college students, acculturative stress contributed to depression differently for men and women so we may find gendered differences in the impact of intragroup marginalization on mental health (Castillo et al, 2015). Cano (2016) found another gender difference as higher familial accusations of assimilation were related to higher misuse of alcohol for Latino men, but not women. This shows a difference among genders in the reaction to accusations of assimilation such as the pressure to speak Spanish.…”