Majority Rules? The Effects of School Ethnic Composition on Substance Use by Mexican Heritage Adolescents

Abstract

This article examines key aspects of the school environment -its composition by ethnicity and acculturation -as important social contexts for understanding Mexican immigrant and Mexican American adolescents' drug use norms and behaviors. Results are presented based on surveys completed by Mexican-background students from 35 Phoenix. Arizona middle schools, whose enrollment ranged from a numerical minority to an overwhelming majority. Multivariate mixed models tested for the influence of school ethnic composition measures on substance use outcomes, while accounting for individual level predictors and for the nesting of data at the school level. The proportional representation of Latinos in the school was not a factor in an individual's drug use norms or drug use for the sample overall. Once students were broken down by acculturation status, however, ethnic composition had an effect. Less acculturated Mexican heritage students in schools with higher proportions of Latino students reported less substance use and less adherence to prodrug norms. Further investigation using other measures of ethnic composition suggested that these effects were attributable to the larger presence of less acculturated Latinos in the school rather than more acculturated Latino students. These school-level effects support the individual-level results indicating that less acculturated Mexican American students face less daunting substance use risks. The results suggest that ethnic group size, but not necessarily numerical predominance, matters and that within-group differences influence the effect of a particular ethnic group's presence in the school. In other words, the majority does not always rule. These findings are interpreted using the concepts of segmented assimilation and school level social capital.Because children spend large portions of their time at school, the school environment provides an important social context for them. Although some research has explored how schools' ethnic composition may structure the school environment and influence behavior, little attention has been given to the possible effects of school ethnic composition on substance use. Given that substance use varies by ethnicity (Wallace et al. 2003), it is possible that school ethnic composition operates through the school-level normative environment to influence individual youths' substance use. This study explores that possibility, testing whether and how Latino predominance in a school influences the substance use of Mexican heritage adolescents. We ask, does the majority rule?

Neighborhood Effects on Youth Substance Use in a Southwestern City

“…Similarly, research that distinguishes neighborhood and school context promises to be informative. In other research we have explored how school context influence individual substance use (Kulis, Marsiglia, Nieri, Sicotte, and Hohmann-Marriott, 2004). A logical next step is to examine how school and neighborhood influences operate in tandem to influence youth outcomes.…”

“…The influence of highly motivated immigrant populations may be protective, as demonstrated by findings that drug use is less prevalent among Latinas living in communities with fewer highly acculturated individuals (Finch, Boardman, Kolody & Vega, 2000). Studies at the school level show lower rates of drug use among less acculturated Mexican Americans students who are in schools with high proportions of peers like themselves (Kulis, Marsiglia, Nieri, Sicotte, & Hohmann-Marriott, 2004), as well as a school level "immigrant advantage" in outcomes as diverse as academic failure and obesity (Crosnoe and Lopez-Gonzales, 2005).…”

Teacher and principal perceptions of student victimization and the schools’ response to violence: The contributions of context on staff congruence

“…Schools tend to be less communally oriented and more disorderly as rates of school and community poverty, teacher turnover, and male students increase (Akiba, 2008;Payne, Gottfredson, & Gottfredson, 2006). Moreover, critical densities of ''at risk'' students may interfere with the enactment of effective school processes and programming (Berliner, 2006;Kulis, Marsiglia, Nieri, Sicotte, & Hohmann-Marriott, 2004;Marsiglia, Kulis, Hecht, & Sills, 2004;Sebring et al, 2006). There is also interesting evidence that female principals may have somewhat greater capacity to enact communal school climates and to promote collaborative problem solving in schools (Blackburn, Martin, & Hutchinson, 2006).…”

“…It is also quite possible that the both staff perceptions and school organization are impacted very heavily by the sheer number of risky peer groups on campus. There is growing evidence that critical densities of school and neighborhood poverty and at-risk students ''grind down'' the staff, generate demoralization and organizational dysfunction, and, ultimately, make it very difficult for schools to improve or enact effective programming over time (Berliner, 2006;Kulis et al, 2004;Marsiglia et al, 2004;Sebring et al, 2006). Theoretically, it is possible that both organizational dysfunction and risky peer groups represent a cyclical dynamic over time (e.g., one influences the other over time).…”

Creating Culturally Grounded Prevention Videos: Defining Moments in the Journey to Collaboration

“…Prior research has demonstrated that interventions created by and for mainstream students, based on dominant culture values and beliefs, were not effective when applied to ethnically distinct groups (Forgey, Schinke, & Cole, 1997;Holleran et al, 2002;Kulis, Marsiglia, Nieri, Sicotte, & Hohmann-Marriott, 2004;Marsiglia, Kulis, & Hecht, 2001). Other studies underscored the need for researchers to understand what it means to be a member of an ethnically distinct group before attempting to develop prevention messages for members of those groups (Marsiglia, Miles, Dustman, & Sills, 2002;Napoli, Marsiglia, & Kulis, 2003;Okamoto, Hurdle, & Marsiglia, 2002;Sheets, 2003).…”