Title
Acculturation, gender, and alcohol use among Mexican American college students
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Psychiatry
Publication Date
2007-04-06
Document Type
Article
Subjects
*Acculturation; *Adolescent Psychology; Adult; Alcohol Drinking; Depression; Educational Status; Family Conflict; Female; Humans; Language; Male; *Mexican Americans; Mothers; Multivariate Analysis; Peer Group; Sex Factors; Social Facilitation; Students; Texas; Universities
Disciplines
Health Services Research | Mental and Social Health | Psychiatric and Mental Health | Psychiatry | Psychiatry and Psychology
Abstract
Prior research with non-college samples of Mexican Americans has demonstrated that gender moderates the association between acculturation and alcohol use. We replicated this finding in a college student sample and attempted to account for the differential impact of acculturation on Mexican American men and women by examining the mediating effects of social context, family conflict and psychological functioning. Participants were 148 Mexican Americans (67% female; M age 23 years) from three state universities in California and Texas who completed self-report surveys. In multivariate analyses controlling for age, maternal education, living situation, and site, linguistic acculturation was associated with increased alcohol use and misuse among women but not men. Two social context variables (social facilitation and family drinking) mediated the association between acculturation and alcohol use (heavy drinking, past year alcohol use, and a composite drinking variable) among women. The findings highlight the importance of social context for understanding alcohol use by Latina college students and indicate directions for future research and intervention development.
DOI of Published Version
10.1016/j.addbeh.2007.02.014
Source
Addict Behav. 2007 Oct;32(10):2187-99. Epub 2007 Mar 7. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Addictive behaviors
Related Resources
PubMed ID
17408871
Repository Citation
Raffaelli, Marcela; Torres Stone, Rosalie A.; Iturbide, Maria I.; McGinley, Meredith; Carlo, Gustavo; and Crockett, Lisa J., "Acculturation, gender, and alcohol use among Mexican American college students" (2007). Systems and Psychosocial Advances Research Center Publications and Presentations. 236.
https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/psych_cmhsr/236
