Pathways to Drinking Among Hispanic/Latino Adolescents: Perceived Discrimination, Ethnic Identity, and Peer Affiliations

Abstract

We examined whether discrimination experienced by Hispanic/Latino adolescents is associated (a) directly with adolescent alcohol use or (b) indirectly with adolescent alcohol use via mediation by ethnic identity and/or peer associations. Data were drawn from an NIAAA-funded randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of a Guided-Self Change intervention for Hispanic/Latino youth with alcohol and interpersonal violence problems (R01 AA12180; see Wagner et al., 2014). The current sample included 371 Hispanic/Latino teenagers (mean age = 16.3 years [SD = 1.37]; 38% female). Using structural equation modeling (SEM), results revealed that perceived discrimination was indirectly related to alcohol consumption through positive (non-drinking) peer affiliations. Additionally, ethnic identity was found to moderate the relationship between discrimination and positive peer affiliation. These findings further our understanding about how discrimination and ethnic identity interact, as well as provide directions for how the effectiveness of prevention models may be enhanced for reducing underage drinking among Hispanic/Latino adolescents.

Hispanic/Latino Adolescents' Alcohol Use: Influence of Family Structure, Perceived Peer Norms, and Family Members' Alcohol Use

“…Similarly, a study of Hispanic/Latino adults showed that compared to other ethnic groups, they generally exhibited higher levels of alcohol use and were more likely to engage in hazardous drinking patterns 11 . Given that Hispanics/Latinos constitute the largest and fastest-growing ethnic/racial minority group in the US (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013), these findings emphasizes the need for research into the determinants of underage drinking among adolescent Hispanic/Latinos.…”

Addressing Alcohol and Marijuana use Disparities among Latino Adolescents

“…This re-confirmed the findings from the seminal study by Vega et al which revealed that adolescent boys (Cubans, other Hispanics, Blacks, Whites) who perceived their friends to be using alcohol were more likely to report using alcohol themselves (Vega et al, 1993a). In another cross-sectional study among Latino high school students (N = 371; 15-18 years old), those who reported a greater proportion of nondrinking peers reported significantly less total alcohol drinks in the previous month and less days using alcohol in the previous month (Acosta et al, 2015). Furthermore, findings from another cross-sectional study of Latino adolescents in California (N = 786) suggested that those who reported friends using marijuana had 27% greater odds of using marijuana themselves (Roditis et al, 2016).…”

“…Specifically, 66.8% of the population is Latino, and more than half of the Latino population is of Cuban origin (U.S. Census Bureau, 2016). Because athere was such scarce recent information in the literature regarding the present dissertation's topics and (b) most research, since the seminal studies, on Latino adolescent substance use has been conducted on adolescents of Mexican or Puerto Rican descent (Acosta, Hospital, Graziano, Morris, & Wagner, 2015;Roditis, Delucchi, Chang, & Halpern-Felsher, 2016;Bacio, Lau, & Mays, 2013), a novel cross-sectional study was performed instead of a longitudinal study.…”

“…The following factors have been associated with increased likelihood of smoking marijuana among Latino adolescents: living with cousins (Wagner et al, 2008), perceived discrimination (Unger et al, 2014;Kam et al, 2010) (Brady, Tschann, Pasch, Flores, & Ozer, 2008), lower self-esteem (Zamboanga et al, 2009), lower level of Latino acculturation (Unger et al, 2014), and a weaker identification with one's own religion (Escobar & Vaughan, 2014 Gonzales, Young, Rodriguez, & Neighbors, 2015;Unger et al, 2014;Schwartz et al, 2011;Vega et al, 1993c). Additionally, adolescents, including Latino adolescents, who perceive their friends to be substance users were more likely to use substances themselves (Schofield et al, 2015;Acosta et al, 2015). Acculturation, or "the process by which an individual adopts the practices and values of the dominant culture where he or she lives" (Warner et al, 2006), is typically measured by the following variables: primary language spoken, length of time living in the U.S., cultural preferences, and cultural (Bacio et al, 2013).…”

“…Although the role of cultural values and perception of friends' alcohol and marijuana use have been investigated in previous studies (Carlton-Smith & Skeer, 2015;DiBello et al, 2015;Unger et al, 2014;Schwartz et al, 2011;Schofield et al 2015;Acosta et al, 2015), recreational activities, a potentially modifiable factor, has not been thoroughly examined in the literature. The present dissertation addressed this gap and was grounded in Primary Socialization Theory (Oetting et al, 1998).…”