The Effect of Acculturation on Patterns of Hispanic Substance Use in Washington State

© 2008 BY THE JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES

THE EFFECT OF ACCULTURATION ON PATTERNS OF

HISPANIC SUBSTANCE USE IN WASHINGTON STATE

SCOTT AKINS, CLAYTON MOSHER, CHAD L . SMITH, JANE FLORENCE GAUTHIER

A growing body of research on Hispanic substance use in the United States hasfound acculturation to result in increased drug use. This study contributes to thisresearch by analyzing the effect of acculturation on Hispanic substance use inWashington State, a state with a rural and dispersed Hispanic population. Findingsreveal acculturation to have a strong positive effect on levels of illicit drug use, harddrug use, binge drinking and bender drinking among Hispanics.

INTRODUCTION

A substantial body of research suggests that acculturation is importantfor understanding variation in patterns of Hispanic' substance use and abuse.Acculturation involves the adoption of new cultural information and social skillsby an immigrant group, which often replace traditional cultural beliefs, practices,and interaction patterns to varying degrees (Vega, Alderete, Kolody, & Aguilar-Gaxiola, 1998; Vega & Gil, 1998). Research on the predictors of drug use and abuseamong Hispanics is particularly important as the Hispanic population in the UnitedStates is rapidly grovk'ing and is expected to approach or exceed 25% of the totalU.S. population by 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004). Studies on the predictors ofsubstance use and abuse among Hispanic adults are necessary in order to allocateresources for drug prevention and treatment.

Scott Akins, Ph.D., is currently assistant professor of sociology at Oregon State University. Hisresearch interests include drug use and poiicy and the intersection of disadvantage, ethnicity, and crime.Clayton Mosher, Ph.D., is associate professor of sociology at Washington State University Vancouver.His research interests include racial profiling, the disparate impact of justice policy on disadvantagedpopulations, and drug use and policy. Chad L. Smith, Ph.D., is assistant professor of sociology atTexas State University—San Marcos. His research interests focus upon environmental sociology andsocial inequality. Jane Florence Gauthier, Ph.D., is assistant professor of criminal justice at Universityof Nevada, Las Vegas. Her current research interests focus on gender differences in criminal offendingand arrest and community and crime issues.

JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES 0022-0426/08/01 103-118

AKINS, ÍVIOSHER, SMITH, GAUTHIER

Existing research that focuses on Hispanics in the United States has found druguse and abuse to increase with acculturation (Finch, Boardman, Kolody, & Vega,2000; Vega, Alderete et al., 1998; Vega, Gil, & Wagner, 1998). Acculturation ispredictive of substance use in the United States partly because immigrant groups aretypically more conservative in terms of values and behavior related to drug use thanis American society in general (Castro, Proescholdbell, Abeita, & Rodriguez, 1999)and partly because of "acculturation stress." Acculturation stress refers to societalpressures that force immigrants to alter their lifestyles, behaviors, and the way theythink about themselves as well as strains deriving from the disadvantaged socialsituation and environment facing recent (particularly first- and second-generation)Hispanic immigrants (Vega, Gil et al., 1998).

This study makes several contributions to the growing literature on acculturationand Hispanic substance use. First, it provides analyses on the effect of acculturationon Hispanic substance use in Washington State, to our knowledge the first suchanalyses conducted on Hispanic populations in the Pacific Northwest. One of thepredominant hypotheses embedded in the acculturation-drug use literature is thatincreased exposure to U.S. culture brings increased opportunities for drug use andincreased exposure to the social contexts of drug use as compared to traditional LatinAmerican countries (Vega, Zimmerman, Warheit & Gil, 2002). This is significantbecause much of the existing research on acculturation and Hispanic substance usehas been conducted in states such as California (Bumam, Hough, Kamo, Escovar,& Telles, 1987; Vega, Alderete et al., 1998), Texas (Farabee, Wallisch, & Maxwell,1995), New York (Epstein, Botvin, & Diaz, 2001; Weite & Bames, 1995), andFlorida (Tumer, Lloyd, & Taylor, 2006; Vega et al., 2002; Warheit, Vega, Khoury,Gil, & Elfenbein, 1996), states that have substantial Hispanic populations and amore significant Hispanic cultural infiuence than does Washington State.

Research indicates that Hispanics who live in heavily concentrated ethniccommunities may acculturate or assimilate more slowly (see for example Wildsmith,2004). This is important as Hispanics comprise a relatively modest portion ofthe population in the Pacific Northwest and this population is disproportionatelymral. For example, 2005 U.S. Census data indicate that the Hispanic population inWashington State is 8.8% but there is considerable variation across counties, withurban counties (e.g. King, Clark, Pierce) reporting substantially smaller Hispanicpopulations than the state average (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). Because theHispanic population in Washington State is disproportionately mral and dispersed,Washington State does not have large Hispanic communities such as those in citiesin Florida, Texas, Califomia, and parts of the Southwest. There are also fewervestiges of Hispanic culture, such as restaurants, cultural centers, television, andprint media available in Spanish and businesses that cater to Hispanic clients. As

104 JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES

j ACCULTURATION PATTERNS IN WASHINGTON STATE

\ a consequence, Hispanics in Washington State may be forced to acculturate more! quickly and, among other things, adopt more permissive attitudes about drug use

sooner than they would have otherwise.Hispanics in Washington State may also experience greater acculturative

stress as the acculturation process is more abrupt or accelerated. Without largeI Hispanic enclaves, Hispanic immigrants will be less likely to interact exclusivelyi or predominately with other Hispanics or to live in areas that are to some degreej culturally similar to their native country. As a consequence, the "buffer zone"

provided to Hispanic migrants in other cities will not be available to those inWashington State. The greater distance from Latin America (as compared toCalifornia, Florida, Texas, and the Southwest) may also contribute to acceleratedacculturation and greater acculturative stress, as it may limit trips to their countryof origin and/or visits by family due to the greater cost and difficulty associatedwith travel. All of these factors may make the effect of acculturation on drug use

I particularly strong for Hispanics in Washington State.Another contribution of this study is that it examines the relationship of

acculturation and Hispanic drug use while controlling for a number of potentiallyI confounding variables. Existing research on acculturation and drug use has noted\ that analyses have often been limited because their inability to control for influencing¡ factors has made it impossible to make definitive statements about the relationshipj between acculturation and substance use (Vega et al., 2002). The analyses presented

in this study address this problem by examining the effect of acculturation onHispanic substance use and abuse while controlling for a number of factors that

j encourage substance use and that may differentially affect recent immigrants.I Along with demographic controls for age, gender, marriage, and rural residence, weI control for educational attainment, extreme poverty, and emotional/psychological

health. The latter three controls are included as existing research suggests thatstudies of acculturation and drug use should control for the confounding effect ofsocioeconomic differences (poverty, educational level) between acculturated andnon-acculturated Hispanics (Vega et al., 2002) as well as differences in mental health(Kaplan & Marks, 1990; Turner et al., 2006).

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

A substantial literature exists on the relationship between acculturation andHispanic substance use. In general this research indicates that acculturation, measuredseveral ways, is a key predictor of substance use among Hispanics (Burnam et al.,1987; Vega & Rumbaut, 1991;Wagner-Etchegaray, Schultz, Chilcoat, & Anthony,1994; Weite & Barnes, 1995), that the effect of acculturation on substance use isstronger for illegal drug use than for alcohol use (Vega, Gil et al., 1998), that low

WINTER 2008 105

AKINS, MOSHER, SMITH, GAUTHIER

acculturation is more protective than biculturalism (Amaro, Whitaker, & Coffman,1990) and that the effect of acculturation on substance use is stronger for femalesthan for males (Black & Markides, 1993; Vega, Alderete et al., 1998).

As Hispanic immigrants to America acculturate into the dominant society theirpattems of dmg use and abuse tend to substantially increase, partly as a result ofdecreased family protective effects (Vega et al., 2002). Low acculturation can alsopresent challenges and strains derived from language barriers, poverty, and limitedsocial knowledge, but overall low acculturation seems to have a substantial protectiveeffect on levels of Hispanic substance use (Vega, Gil et al., 1998). Research hasfound this effect to be particularly strong with Hispanic females who, as theyacculturate, are exposed to values that are more tolerant of female dmg use andabuse as compared to their traditional values (Aguirre-Molina & Caetano, 1994;Caetano, 1984; Markides, Ray, Stroup-Bentham, & Trevino, 1990).

A growing body of research further underscores the trends highlighted above.These studies all indicate that increased acculturation leads to increased levels ofillicit dmg use (Amaro et al., 1990; Vega, Alderete et al., 1998), alcohol use (Black& Markides, 1993) or both alcohol and illicit dmg use (Warheit et al., 1996). Thisbody of literature has found substance use to be highest among more acculturatedethnic groups (Mexican Americans and Cuban Americans) when compared to lessacculturated groups (Puerto Ricans) (Black & Markides, 1993; Warheit et al., 1996),and that the effect of acculturation on dmg use is stronger for women than for men(Black & Markides, 1993; Vega, Alderete, et al., 1998) and for urban versus nonurbanresidents (Vega, Alderete, et al., 1998). Although there is substantial variation in thescope, types of data employed, and sample size, collectively, this research verifiesthat increased acculturation is a major contributor to substance use.

Research on adolescent substance use and its links to acculturation address theeffects of bilingual households, the importance of community, the protective effectsof the family, and the role of traumatic experiences. Epstein, Botvin, and Diaz(2000, 2001) examined the effect of acculturation, measured as language spokenwith parents, on Hispanic adolescents in New York City. Results of two separatestudies revealed somewhat contradictory findings. Epstein et al. (2000) found thatHispanic adolescents who spoke both English and Spanish with their parents weremore likely than English-only students to be alcohol users, while Epstein et al.(2001) found Spanish-only speakers to be less likely than English-only speakersand bilingual speakers to engage in poly-dmg use. Focusing on the importance ofcommunity factors. Finch and colleagues (2000) examined the effect of communityacculturation, social class, and substance use among pregnant Latinas and concludedthat community acculturation may be an important predictor of Hispanic legal and

i 06 JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES

ACCULTURATION PATTERNS IN WASHINGTON STATE

illegal drug use beyond the effect of individual-level acculturation (Finch et al.,Boardman, Kolody, & Vega, 2000).

Vega et al. (2002) examined the effect of acculturation on adolescent Hispanicboys in Dade County, Florida, finding parental acculturation to be predictive ofalcohol and illicit drug use among the adolescent subjects. In part, acculturation wasfound to be predictive of substance use as it minimized family protective effectsand increased the likelihood of peer drug use by adolescent Hispanics (Vega et al.,2002). Turner and colleagues (2006) examined the association between acculturativestress, nativity, and DSM-IV drug dependence among young adult Hispanics inDade County, Florida. Results of this study indicate that exposure to potentiallytraumatic events was lower among recent immigrants and partly because of thisacculturation was found to be an important factor for understanding differences indrug use and dependence.

Although the perceived effects of acculturation are often positive—such asincreased fluency in the English language and financial opportunities for presentand future generations—the above literature underscores important negativeconsequences of acculturation. The stress of acculturation, coupled with a culturalshift that deemphasizes protective family norms, places acculturating Hispanics atgreater risk for substance abuse and substance related problems.

DATA AND METHODS

The data for this study are derived from the 2003 Washington State NeedsAssessment Household Survey, a telephone household survey of adults designed tomeasure the extent ofdrug use and to help the state assess the need for state-fundedsubstance abuse treatment services. The survey was implemented over a 13-monthperiod from February 2003 through February 2004. Data were collected on 6,713adults, including 1,690 subjects who identified themselves as "Hispanic." Of these,734 respondents completed the survey in Spanish (referred to as "non-acculturatedHispanics") and 956 elected to complete the survey in English (referred to as"acculturated Hispanics"). Our cross-sectional logistic regression analyses focuson comparisons between these two groups.

Telephone interviewing was completed by Washington State University'sSocial and Economic Sciences Research Center on behalf of the Washington StateDepartment of Social and Health Services Division of Alcohol and SubstanceAbuse. Respondents were randomly chosen within the household by interviewingthe adult with the most recent birthday. Considerable efforts were made to encouragesurvey respondents to participate, including translations of the instrument into sixlanguages^; multiple call-backs; and letters of introduction to the survey sent to

j prospective respondents. The sampling strategy of this survey also oversampled

I WINTER 2008 107


for hard-to-reach populations, iticluding young adults, persons living in poverty,and members of racial/ethnic minority groups, enabling the analyses conducted inthe present study.

DEPENDENT VARIABLES

We utilize four distinct measures of substance use and abuse with all thedependent variables being binary in nature. "Past 30-day illicit drug use" is coded1 if the respondent reports the illicit use of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine,other stimulants, heroin, pain relievers or other opiates, hallucinogens, tranquilizers,sedatives, or inhalants in the 30 days prior to completing the survey. "Past 30-dayhard drug, use" is coded 1 if the respondent reports illicit use of the above drugsexcluding marijuana during the past 30 days. "Past year binge drinking" is coded" 1 " if male respondents report having five or more drinks in one day in the previousyear and if female respondents report having four or more drinks in one day in theprevious year.̂ "Past year bender drinking" is coded " 1 " if respondents report "goingon binges where you kept drinking for a couple of days or more without soberingup" during the past year.

Pattems of alcohol and illicit drug use and abuse among Spanish-preferenceHispanics, English-preference Hispanics, and Whites in Washington State arereported in Table 1. Measures of drug use in Table 1 include the dependent variablesused in this study along with several additional measures of substance use andabuse. These data reveal that non-acculturated Hispanics report far lower levelsof substance use than acculturated Hispanics or Whites with the exception of pastyear bender drinking. The data also indicate that English-preference Hispanics andWhites report very similar pattems of substance use across the measures of drugand alcohol use.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

The key independent variable in this study, "acculturation," is measured usingEnglish or Spanish language preference. As noted above, Hispanics who answered thesurvey in Spanish are coded "0" (again, referred to as "non-acculturated Hispanics")and serve as the comparison category for the multivariate analyses. Existing researchsuggests that language preference is an appropriate measure of acculturation (Finch etal., 2000; Kaplan & Marks, 1990; Rogler, 1991; Samaniego & Gonzales, 1999; Vega& Gil, 1998), but it is important to note that some scholars have pointed to potentialweaknesses with this measure of acculturation. Specifically, these researchers havenoted that language is an indirect measure of the acculturation process that does nottap into other elements such as changes in values and beliefs (Betancourt & Lopez,1995; Cabassa, 2003; Rogler, 1994). While we acknowledge these limitations, we



T A B L E 1

PERCENT REPORTING DRUG/ALCOHOL USE AND ABUSE—NONACCULTURATED HISPANICS,

ACCULTURATED HISPANICS, AND WHITES

Variable

WhitesPast month illicit drug usePast year illicit drug useLifetime illicit drug use

Past month hard drug usePast year hard drug useLifetime hard drug use

Past year binge drinkingLifetime binge drinking

Past year binge drinking for daysw/o sobering up (bender)Lifetime binge drinking for daysw/o sobering up (bender)

Hispanics—Spanish Preference

0.71.9

11.4

0.41.67.0

15.930.0

1.4

2.6

Hispanics—English Preference

7.213.743.9

3.07.2

25.6

29.261.7

1.9

6.3

6.411.345.5

2.65.5

29.2

27.568.7

1.3

6.5

N 734 956 1785

proceed using this measure of acculturation due to data restrictions and because,according to Vega and Gil (1998), language is an acceptable proxy for acculturationas "embedded in language is cultural imagery, values, knowledge of customs, andaccess to a cultural group and its respective artifacts" (p. 128).

Our analyses include measures of poverty and education. Existing researchsuggests that recent Hispanic immigrants are more likely to live in poverty and tobe less educated (Vega, Gil et al., 1998) and these are conditions that may influencelevels of substance use and abuse in minority populations (Wallace, 1999). "Poverty"captures respondents that are 200% below the federal poverty level, when takinginto account both the number of members in a household and income. We includethis measure as research on ethnic differences in drug use suggests that extremepoverty is a superior predictor of substance use as compared to standard measuresof poverty (Barr, Farrell, Barnes, & Weite, 1993). Those that are 200% below thepoverty line are coded " 1 " and those above that threshold are coded "0". "Education"is constructed into 8 categories: 1 = none; 2 = first through 8* grade; 3 = some highschool, no diploma; 4 = high school graduate or GED; 5 = some college, no degree;6 = associate's degree; 7 = college graduate; 8 = advanced degree.

WINTER 2008 109


Our analyses also control for emotional health. Numerous studies have foundacculturation and its associated strain to be linked with poor emotional health andmental problems in recent immigrant populations (Kaplan & Marks, 1990; Kopala,Esquivel, & Baptiste, 1994; Tumer et al., 2006; Vega et al., 2002) and researchhas identified a relationship between emotional health and substance use (Wills& Shiffman, 1985). Acculturative stress may prompt mental health problems ifthe stress is extreme (Bumam et al., 1987; Kaplan & Marks, 1990) but these aredistinct concepts (Portes & Rumbaut, 2006). We control for psychological/emotionalhealth to examine the acculturation-dmg use relationship net of emotional healthdifferences in acculturated and non-acculturated Hispanics (differences demonstratedin Table 2). "Emotional/psychological health" is derived from a question askingrespondents to assess their emotional/psychological health during the previous 12months. Responses are coded from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent).

We also control for mral residence as there are important differences in the mraland urban Hispanic populations in Washington State and these differences mayinfluence levels of acculturation and dmg use. "Rural" is coded " 1 " of the respondentreports living in a mral area based on their reported county and zip code.

Finally, our analyses also control for four variables known to be associated withsubstance use and abuse. "Age" is constmcted as a four-category dummy variableseparating those aged 18 to 24, 25 to 44, and 65 and above, with persons aged 45to 64 serving as the reference category. "Married or Living with Partner" indicateswhether a respondent reports being married or living with a partner in a "marriage-

T A B L E 2

MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS FOR INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

Age 18-24 (0/1)Age 25-44 (0/1)Age 65 & above (0/1)Female (0/1)Married or living with partner (0/1)Rural (0/1)Poverty (0/1)Education (1-8)Emotional/psychological health (1-5)

Hispanics-Spanish

Mean

.19

.66

.03

.58

.73.73.94

2.812.91

N = '

PreferenceSD

.39

.47

.18

.49

.44.44.24

1.18.96

734

Hispanics—English Preference

Mean

.28

.49.05.58.57.50.47

4.853.53

N =

SD

.45

.50

.22

.49

.50

.50

.501.551.13

956



like relationship," with tnarried and cohabitating persons coded as " 1 " and thosereporting never having been tnarried or who are separated, divorced, or widowedcoded "0." "Female" is coded " 1 " if the respondent reports being fetnale and "0"if they report being male.

Descriptive statistics for the independent variables are reported in Table 2.Non-acculturated Hispanics are more likely to report being married, to live in ruralareas, and to live in poverty. Non-acculturated Hispanics also report lower levels ofeducation attainment and report poorer emotional/psychological health.

FINDINGS

Table 3 presents the results of logistic regression analyses examining past 30-dayillicit drug use and past 30-day hard drug use." Analyses of past-30 day illicit druguse reveal expected pattems of drug use by age, sex, and marital status. Drug usedecreases substantially with age, females are far less likely to engage in current illegaldrug use than are males, and those who are married or living with a partner are muchless likely to be current illicit drug users. Rural residence, poverty, and educationdo not have a statistically significant effect on illicit drug use among Hispanics, butemotional health is negatively related to current drug use. As expected, acculturationhas a significant and positive effect on illicit drug use, with acculturated Hispanicsbeing almost 13 times as likely to report illicit drug use in the previous month as

TABLE 3

LOGISTIC REGRESSION RESULTS—PAST 30-DAY ILLICIT DRUG USE AND PAST 30-DAY

HARD DRUG USE BY HISPANICS

Variable Past 30-Day Illicit Drug Use Past 30-Day Hard Drug Use

AGE-18 to 24

AGE-25 to 44

AGE-65 & Above

Female

Married/ live-in partner

Rural

Poverty

Education

Emotional/psy health

Acculturation

N

Nagelkerke R2

Model Chi-Square

Coefficient

1.825

1.179

16.996

-.970

-1.064

-.509

.026

-.067

-.334

2.557

1596

.24

124.42

Odds Ratio

6 .202"

3.252«

.000

. 3 7 9 "

.345«

.601

1.027

.935

. 7 1 6 "

12.896"

*•

Coefficient

.157

.452

-2.819

-.999

-.756

-.743

.205

.093

-.309

1.547

1596

.24

255.20

Odds Ratio

1.170

1.572«

.060«'

.368«'

.470«'

.476«'

1.228

1.097

.734«'

4.697«'

«fX.O5

WINTER 2008 111


non-acculturated Hispanics. The complete model explains 24% of the variance inillicit drug use.

Results of analyses for past 30-day hard drug use are also reported in Table 3.Findings indicate that hard drug use decreases with age and hard drug use is lesslikely for females and for those who are married or have a live in partner. Ruralresidents are also less likely to report hard drug use. Poverty and education arenot significantly related to hard drug use but emotional health exerts a significant,negative effect on hard drug use in the past 30 days. Finally, acculturation is againa significant, positive predictor of hard drug use, with acculturated Hispanics morethan 4 times as likely to use hard drugs during the past 30 da:ys. The complete modelexplains approximately 24% of the variance in past 30-day hard drug use.

In Table 4 we report the results of logistic regression analyses examining pastyear binge drinking and past year bender drinking. Analyses of past year bingedrinking provide expected findings for age, sex and marital status. Binge drinkingdecreases with age, females are much less likely than males to report binge drinkingin the past year, and those who are married or live with a partner are less likely tobinge drink. Rural residence is also negatively related to binge drinking. Althougheducation is not significantly related to binge drinking, poverty exhibits a significantand negative relationship with binge drinking as does emotional health. Consistentwith the findings discussed above, acculturation is positively and significantlyrelated to binge drinking, with acculturated Hispanics almost twice as likely to binge

T A B L E 4

LOGISTIC REGRESSION RESULTS—PAST YEAR BINGE DRINKING AND PAST YEAR BENDER DRINKING

Variable

Age 18 to 24

Age 25 to 44

Age 65 & above

Female

Married/live-in partner

Rural

Poverty

Education

Emotional/psy health

Acculturation

N

Nagelkerke R2

Model Chi-Square

Past Year Binge Drinking

Coefficier

1.060

.922

-1.478

-1.375

-.681

-.330

-.408

.030

-.122

.660

It Odds Ratio

2.887"

2.514' '

.228*

.253»'

.506**

.719*

.665«

1.031

.885*

1.935"

1596

.22

259.78"

Past Year Bender Drinking

Coefficient

1.972

1.774

-15.701

-1.707

-1.321

-.464

.238

-.342

-.629

1.196

Odds Ratio

7.187

5.895

.000

. 1 8 1 "

.267*

.629

1.268

.710

. 5 3 3 "

3.308«

1596

.20

49.46"

JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES


drink during the past year. The complete model accounts for 22% of the variancein binge drinking.

Analyses of past year bender drinking are also reported in Table 4. Bender drinking,which involves drinking for two or more days in a row without ever sobering up, ismuch less likely among Hispanic females and those who are married or live with

I a partner. Rural residence, poverty, and education do not have a significant effecton bender drinking but emotional health is negatively and significantly related tobender drinking. Analyses also reveal acculturation to be a significant and positivepredictor of bender drinking, with acculturated Hispanics being more than 3 times

I as likely to report bender drinking during the previous year. The complete modelI accounts for 20% of the variance.I

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

A growing body of literature on Hispanic substance use in the United Statesj suggests that acculturation is associated with increased drug use (Vega, Alderete et

al., 1998; Vega, Gil et al., 1998.) This study contributes to the growing literatureon acculturation and Hispanic drug use. We provide analyses on the effect ofacculturation on Hispanic substance use in Washington State, the first such analysesconducted on Hispanic populations in the Pacific Northwest. A great deal of theexisting research on these issues has been conducted in states such as California,Texas, and New York that have large Hispanic populations and a strong Hispaniccultural infiuence (see, for example, Epstein et al., 2001; Farabee et al., 1995;Turner et al., 2006; Vega et al., 2002). As compared to these states, Washington hasa smaller and more dispersed Hispanic population, fewer signs of Hispanic culture,and few large Hispanic enclaves. Because these factors may increase the speed ofacculturation and acculturation stress, we hypothesized that the effect of acculturationon Hispanic substance use would be particularly strong in Washington even thoughwe acknowledge that Hispanics represent a broad ethnic group.

Our analyses revealed that acculturated Hispanics were almost 13 times as likelyto report current illegal drug use and more than four times as likely to report currenthard drug use as non-acculturated Hispanics. These findings are consistent with

j existing studies that have found acculturated Hispanics to be much more likely toreport illegal drug use (Bumam et al., 1987; Vega, Gil et al., 1998; Vega & Rumbaut,1991; Wagner-Etchegaray et al., 1994). Analyses of acculturation and alcohol userevealed that acculturated Hispanics were almost twice as likely to report currentbinge drinking and more than three times as likely to report drinking continuouslyfor days in a row without sobering up. As existing research has found some Hispanicgroups to be more likely than others to report "fiesta drinking," patterns of occasionalheavy alcohol consumption punctuated by periods of abstinence (Caetano, 1988;

! Caetano, Clark, & Tam, 1998; Vega, Alderete et al., 1998), it is interesting to note

I WINTER 2008 113IIIIII


that acculturation into the dominant culture has a significant positive effect onpatterns of binge drinking and bender drinking in the present study.

The findings presented here suggest ftirther support for a growing body ofresearch indicating the negative consequences of acculturation. As acculturationis a likely outcome for Hispanic populations in the United States, research may bebest directed at determining how to maximize the protective effects that are typicalof low-acculturation, particularly those related to family, and at minimizing therisk factors associated with acculturation stress in order to attenuate the eifect ofacculturation on Hispanic substance use.

We acknowledge that the study of Washington focuses upon a relatively smallethnic population. However, to our knowledge this is the first study of the effects ofacculturation on drug and alcohol use and abuse in the Pacific Northwest. We believethis contributes to our understanding of the effects of acculturation in a region witha relatively modest Hispanic population and cultural influence. Future research,however, should address this question in other geographic regions to further ourunderstanding of how this process varies in other parts of the United States.

This study has also provided a look at the effect of acculturation on four distinctmeasures of substance use—illicit drug use, hard drug use, binge drinking, andbender drinking. Research should continue to investigate the effect of acculturationon diverse measures of substance use.

Researchers may also want to consider the effect that migrant worker populationshave on these relationships. The National Agricultural Workers Survey (U.S.Department of Labor, 2005) indicates that in 2001-2002 roughly 42% of cropworkers in the United States were "migrant workers" who traveled at least 75 milesto a farm job over a 12-month time period. Research on this unique population ofmostly Hispanic persons would not only refine our understanding of the acculturationprocess, but would also provide additional information on variation within theHispanic community with respect to drug and alcohol use.

As the Hispanic population in the United States grows, understanding theeffects of acculturation becomes increasingly important. Although acculturationmay provide benefits—such as financial opportunities and fluency in English—itis essential to gain a greater understanding of the possible negative consequencesassociated with acculturation. The findings of this research indicate that there are,indeed, negative consequences for English-speaking Hispanics in terms of elevatedlevels of substance use.

NOTES

' Many sources of information on substance use, as well as the U.S. Census, usethe term "Hispanic" to refer to a diverse group of Americans who have either

114 _ JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES


immigrated to the United States themselves or whose ancestors immigrated fromMexico (approximately 60% of all Hispanics), Puerto Rico, Cuba, or Centraland South America. Although this is an extremely heterogeneous group, "theSpanish language and certain cultural customs and traditions that are basedon Catholicism and old Spanish culture bind many Hispanics with a senseof common culture" (Castro et al., 1999). Many ofthose who are identifiedas Hispanic prefer to be called Spanish Americans or Latinos, as the term"Hispanic" refers to the colonizing nation of Spain (Castro et al., 1999).

^ The survey was offered in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese andRussian.

^ We recognize that the term "binge drinking" is a controversial label becauseit is vague and, in some cases, inaccurate (see Inter-Association Task Forceon Alcohol and Other Substance Abuse Issues, 2000). However, a majorityof the substance use literature refers to binge drinking and we follow thatconvention.

"* Please note that the discrepancy between the total number of Hispanics surveyed(1696) and those included in the logistic regression results (1596) is due to non-response on one or more variables.

REFERENCES

Aguirre-Molina, M., & Caetano, R.1994 Alcohol use and alcohol-related issues. In C. Molina & M. Aguirre-Molina

(Eds.), Latino health in the United States: A growing challenge (pp. 393-424). Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.

Amaro, H., Whitaker, R., & Coffman, G.1990 Acculturation and marijuana and cocaine use: Findings from HHANES

\9%2-'&A. American Journal of Public Health, 80, 54-60.Barr, K., Farrell, M., Bames, G., & Weite, J.1993 Race, class, and gender differences in substance abuse: Evidence of middle-

class/underclass polarization among black males. Social Problems, 40,314-327.

Betancourt, H., & Lopez, S. R.1995 The study of culture, ethnicity, and race in American psychology. In N.R.

Goldberer & J.B. Veroff (Eds.), The culture and psychology reader (pp.87-107). New York: New York University Press.

Black, S., & Markides, K.1993 Acculturation and alcohol consumption in Puerto-Rican, Cuban-American

and Mexican-American women in the United States. American Journal ofPublic Health, 83, 890-893.

¡WINTER 2008 115


Burnam, M. A., Hough, R. L., Karno, M., Escovar, J. I., & Telles, CA.1987 Acculturation and lifetime prevalence of psychiatric disorders among

Mexican Americans mhos Angeles. Journal of Health and Social Behavior,28, 89-102.

Cabassa, L.2003 Measuring acculturation: Where we are and where we need to go. Hispanic

Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 25, \11-\A6.Caetano, R.1984 Ethnicity and drinking in northern Califomia: A comparison among whites,

hXacks, anáYiis'pa.nics. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 19, 31-44.Caetano, R.1988 Alcohol use among Hispanic groups in the United States. American

Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 14, 293-308.Caetano, R., Clark, C , & Tam, T.1998 Alcohol consumption among racial/ethnic minorities. Alcohol Health and

Research World 22, 233-241.Castro, F., Proescholdbell, R. J., Abeita, L., & Rodriguez, D.1999 Ethnic and cultural minority groups. In B. McCrady & E. Epstein (Eds.),

Addictions: A guide for professionals (pp. 499-526). New York: Oxford.Epstein, J., Botvin, G., & Diaz, T.2000 Alcohol use among Hispanic adolescents: Role of linguistic acculturation

and gender. Journal ofAleohol & Drug Education, 45, 18-32.Epstein, J., Botvin, G., & Diaz, T.2001 Linguistic acculturation associated with higher marijuana and polydrug use

among Hispanic adolescents. Substance Use and Misuse, 36, 477-499.Farabee, D., Wallisch, L., & Maxwell, J.1995 Substance use among Texas Hispanics and non-Hispanics: Who's using,

who's not and why? Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Science, 17, 523-536.

Finch, B., Boardman, J., Kolody, B., & Vega, W.2000 Contextual effects of acculturation on perinatal substance exposure among

immigrants and native-bom Latinas. Social Science Quarterly, 81, 421-438.

Inter-Association Task Force on Alcohol and Other Substance Abuse Issues2000 lATF proclamation: A position statement from the Inter-Association on

Alcohol and Other Substance Abuse Issues. Retreived December 17, 2007from: http://www.iatf.org/procla.htm.



Kaplan, M., & Marks, G.1990 Adverse effects of acculturation: Psychological distress among Mexican

American young adults. Social Science and Medicine, 31, 1313-1319.Kopala, M., Esquivel, G., & Baptiste, L.1994 Counseling approaches for immigrant children: Facilitating the acculturative

process. School Counselor, 41, 352-359.Markides, K., Ray, L., Stroup-Bentham, C, & Trevino, F.1990 Acculturation and alcohol consumption in the Mexican American population

of southwestern United States: Findings from HHANES 1982-1984.American Journal of Public Health, 80, 42-46.

Portes, A., & Rumbaut, R. G.2006 Immigrant America: A portrait. Berkeley: University of California Press.Rogler, L.1991 Acculturation & mental health status among Hispanics: Convergence and

new directions for research. American Psychologist, 46, 585-597.Rogler, L.1994 International migrations: A framework for directing research. American

Psychologist, 49, 701-708.Samaniego, R. Y., & Gonzales, N.1999 Multiple mediators of the effects of acculturation status on delinquency

for Mexican American adolescents. American Journal of CommunityPsychology 27, 189-210.

Turner, R., Lloyd, D., & Taylor, J.2006 Stress burden, drug dependence and the nativity paradox among U.S.

Hispanics. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 83, 79-89.U.S. Census Bureau2004 U.S. interim projections by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin. Retrieved

October 8, 2006 from http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/usinterimproj.U.S. Census Bureau2007 State and County QuickFacts. Retrieved June 21, 2007 from

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/53000.htmlU.S. Department of Labor2005 National agricultural workers survey, 200J-2002: A demographic and

employment profile of United States farm workers. Retrieved from http://' www.doleta.gov/agworker/report9/toc.cfm.' Vega, W., Alderete, E., Kolody, B., & Aguilar-Gaxiola, S.! 1998 Illicit drug use among Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in California:I The effects of gender and acculturation./4í/£//cí/o/7, P3, 1839-1851.i

I WINTER 2008 117IIiI


Vega,W.,&Gil,A.1998 Drug use and ethnicity in early adolescence. New York: Plenum Press.Vega, W., Gil, A., & Wagner, E.1998 Cultural adjustment and Hispanic adolescent drug use. In W. Vega & A. Gil

(Eds.), Drug use and ethnicity in early adolescence (pp. 125-149). NewYork: Plenum Press.

Vega, W., & Rumbaut, R. G.1991 Ethnic minorities and mental health. Annual Review of Sociology, 17,351-

381.Vega, W., Zimmerman, R., Warheit, G., & Gil, A.2002 Family structure and mental health. In A. Maney & J. Ramos (Eds.),

Socioeconomic conditions, stress and mental disorders: Toward a newsynthesis of research and public policy (Chapter 9). Washington, DC: MentalHealth Statistical Improvement Program (MHSIP), National Institute ofMental Health. Retrieved from www.mhsip.org/nimhdoc/socioeconmh_home.htm

Wagner-Etchegaray, F., Schultz, C , Chilcoat, H., & Anthony, J.1994 Degree of acculturation and the rise of crack-cocaine smoking among

Hispanic-Americans. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 1825-1827.

Wallace, J.1999 The social ecology of addiction: Race, risk and resilience. Pediatrics, 103,

\ui-\ni.Warheit, G., Vega, W, Khoury, E., Gil, A., & Elfenbein, P1996 A comparative analysis of cigarette, alcohol, and illicit drug use among

an ethnically diverse sample of Hispanic, African-American, and non-Hispanic white adolescents. Journal of Drug Issues, 26, 901-922.

Weite, J., & Bames, G.1995 Alcohol and other drug use among Hispanics in New York State. Alcoholism:

Clinical and Experimental Research, 19, 1061 -1066.Wildsmith, E.2004 Racial/ethnic differences in female headship: Exploring the assumptions

of assimilation theory. Social Science Quarterly, 85, 89-106.Wills, T., & Shiffman, S.1985 Coping and substance abuse: A conceptual framework. In S. Shiffman & T

Wills (Eds.), Coping and Substance Use (pp. 1-24). Orlando, FL: AcademicPress.


The Effect of Acculturation on Patterns of Hispanic Substance Use in Washington State

Documents

Transcript of The Effect of Acculturation on Patterns of Hispanic Substance Use in Washington State