Alcohol-related expectations among Mexican-American women

Drinking among U.S. Hispanics: A Multivariate Analysis of Alcohol Consumption Patterns

This article explores the relationship between various demographic measures and alcohol consumption patterns among U.S. Hispanics, using data collected as part of the 5-year project, Preventing Alcohol Trauma: A Community Trial, funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. In particular, it addresses the impact of gender, age, and other exogenous measures on four drinking pattern measures: drinker status (current drinker versus abstainer), drinking frequency, average drinks per occasion, and variance in drinking patterns. The article applies a series of models originally developed by Gruenewald and colleagues concerning a subsample of the project’s phone-survey Hispanic subsample. Results indicate that although consumption patterns for U.S. Hispanics are similar to those in the general population, they differ in a number of important respects. Specifically, being divorced or separated, as opposed to single, appeared to elevate drinking levels. Additionally, males in their 30s, as opposed to in their 20s, appeared at greatest risk for problematic consumption patterns. The implications of these differences for the health of U.S. Hispanics are noted.

Stereotypes about Chicanas and Chicanos

A review of the literature on stereotypes about Chicanas/os reveals that people of Mexican descent are perceived predominantly in derogatory terms, with the few positive terms primarily related to the centrality of the family for this ethnic community. This review also indicates that Chicanas/os themselves often endorse these stereotypes. However, the extant literature has not examined the counseling process in relation to consensual, social stereotypes of this ethnic group. This article serves to bridge that gap in the literature. Counselors are strongly encouraged to be cognizant of how stereotypes may affect Chicanas/os, especially in areas related to identity, risky behavior, stereotype threat, education, gender roles, and stigmatization. Counselors are encouraged to increase racial awareness as part of the mental health development of their Chicana/o clients. Counselors are particularly challenged to examine how their own conscious and unconscious stereotypes may affect the counselor-client relationship. Future research directions are also discussed.

The dimensionality and measurement properties of alcohol outcome expectancies across Hispanic national groups

This study examines the psychometric properties of alcohol expectancies among Hispanic subgroups. Face-to-face interviews were conducted as part of the 2006 Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS), which employed a multistage cluster sample design. A total of 5224 individuals (18+ years of age) representing four Hispanic national groups (Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, Mexican Americans, and South/Central Americans) were selected at random from the household population in five metropolitan areas (Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles). Alcohol expectancies included 18 items covering positive (e.g., laugh more, become more talkative) and negative dimensions (e.g., become aggressive, lose control) when alcohol is consumed. Confirmatory factor models replicated a previously proposed three-factor dimensional structure with a substantial majority of items exhibiting measurement invariance across Hispanic national group and gender. Items covering social extroversion were an exception, showing a lack of invariance for female Cuban and South/Central Americans. Latent mean differences across groups were detected for expectancies concerning emotional fluidity, and the pattern of differences largely mirrored known differences in alcohol consumption patterns. Results suggest that caution should be exercised in interpreting differences in expectancies concerning social extroversion across Hispanic groups, and additional work is needed to identify indices of this construct with invariant measurement properties. However, measures of emotional/behavioral impairment and emotional fluidity expectancies can be validly compared across gender and Hispanic national groups.

The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): predictors of alcohol attitudes and expectancies in Hispanic national groups

BACKGROUND

Multiple theoretical frameworks identify attitudes and expectancies as important predictors of alcohol behavior. Few studies have examined demographic predictors of these evaluative and belief-based cognitive mediators in the general population, and none have examined them in large-scale studies of Hispanics, a group at higher risk for drinking behavior and problems. This study probes the extent to which dimensions of attitudes and expectancies share common demographic predictors in a large sample of Puerto Ricans, Cuban-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and South/Central Americans.

METHODS

The 2006 Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS) used a multistage cluster sample design to interview 5,224 individuals randomly selected from households in Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles. This study focused on 2,773 respondents self-identified as current drinkers. Multiple linear regression was used to identify predictors of positive and negative dimensions of attitudes and expectancies, controlling for various background variables.

RESULTS

Religious affiliation selectively predicted alcohol attitudes, with Catholics having more positive and fewer negative attitudes than other religious groups. Hispanic group selectively predicted alcohol expectancies, with Cuban-Americans having less positive and less negative expectancies than other groups. Being U.S.-born or male predicted more positive attitudes and expectancies, but birthplace and gender did not predict negative dimensions of attitudes or expectancies. Higher acculturation and more education were linked to a decreased tendency to agree with any item. Age was positively and negatively associated with negative expectancies and positive attitudes, respectively, and having never been married, higher income, and unemployment were each linked to fewer negative attitudes.

CONCLUSIONS

Although there is some overlap, attitudes and expectancies are influenced by different sociodemographic variables. Positive and negative dimensions of those constructs also show distinct patterns of relations. Prevention and treatment programs targeting cognitive mediators of behavior should be mindful of these differential determinants and future modeling endeavors should incorporate them.

Country of origin, age of drinking onset, and drinking patterns among Mexican American young adults

This study examines relationships between country of origin, age of drinking onset, and adverse drinking outcomes among young adult Mexican Americans in the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Logistic regression models estimate associations between age of drinking onset, age of onset in relation to age at immigration, and adverse drinking outcomes, controlling for sex, age, employment, education, marital status, and income. Adjusted analyses indicate the odds of adverse drinking outcomes decreased as age of drinking onset increased. Mexican Americans who initiated drinking in Mexico had significantly lower odds of current or lifetime harmful drinking than U.S. born but the odds were not significantly different between foreign-born Mexican Americans who initiated drinking in the U.S. and U.S. born. Irrespective of whether drinking onset was in Mexico or the U.S., foreign-born Mexican Americans had lower odds of alcohol abuse than U.S. born. However, odds of dependence were not significantly different between foreign-born and U.S.-born Mexican Americans. While findings suggest that being foreign born may be protective, further research on social and cultural factors impacting drinking onset and related outcomes among young Mexican Americans may help inform prevention efforts.

Alcohol expectancies and drinking behaviors in Mexican American college students

Research with non-Latinos has shown that alcohol expectancies ("the anticipated effects of alcohol use") are associated with drinking behaviors; however, prior studies have not fully examined such relations in Latino college students. This investigation examines positive alcohol expectancies and their association with contextual drinking and alcohol-related problem behaviors in a sample of 107 Mexican American college students (mean age=25; 54% female) who completed self-report surveys. Results showed that students who endorsed expectancies of physical and social pleasure and increased social assertiveness were likely to engage in frequent heavy drinking and imbibe in less personal settings. Furthermore, gender (being male) and the expectancy of enhanced sexual performance and experience were associated with involvement in risk behaviors due to drinking. This study highlights the link between specific alcohol expectancies and alcohol-related problem behaviors in Mexican American college students. Intervention approaches aimed at modifying drinking expectancies in physical, social, and sexual domains could prove useful in this population.

Gender, acculturation, and alcohol consumption among Mexican Americans

OBJECTIVE

This study examines the relationship between level of acculturation and drinking status among Mexican American males and females in three northern California cities.

METHOD

The data analyzed were collected through the use of a telephone survey. The sample size is 932.

RESULTS

Our results show that acculturation has a direct effect on drinking status for women in the sample but not for men. At low levels of acculturation, our results show the expected difference in drinking status by gender; with high abstention rates for women and low abstention rates for males. At high levels of acculturation there is a convergence in drinking status with females approximating the proportion of male drinkers in the sample. Additionally, acculturation was associated with "heavier" drinking for females while place of birth was associated with "heavier" drinking for males.

CONCLUSIONS

Studies of drinking patterns and related problems need to consider these factors.

Cultural identification and substance use in North America--an annotated bibliography

Level of identification with one's culture has long been thought to be a predictor of substance use among ethnic minority populations. However, cultural identification is a complex construct that has been difficult to capture in a coherent theoretical way. Additionally, the various theoretical approaches have led to numerous and divergent methods of measurement. Although measurement is becoming more sophisticated, the evidence for a link between cultural identification and drug use remains elusive. There is evidence that immigrants to a new culture do change their pattern of substance use to match that of the host culture, but the mechanism of that change is not well understood. That culture impacts behavior is without question although how culture operates specifically with respect to substance use will require further effort.

Husband's level of drinking and egalitarianism in Mexican-American families

This study examines the relationship between husband's level of drinking and his participation in traditionally defined female household duties. A quantity/frequency index of alcohol consumption was used to compare husband's drinking level with participation in child care, household cleaning, buying groceries, and cooking as a measure of egalitarianism in Mexican-American family households. Results show that husbands who abstain from alcohol participate in two of the household duties, cleaning and cooking, at significantly higher levels than either infrequent or frequent drinkers.

The role of cultural and gender values in alcohol use patterns among Chicana/Latina high school and university students: implications for AIDS prevention

This paper presents preliminary findings of two studies conducted with Chicana/Latina secondary and university students. Ninety-four women were surveyed concerning alcohol and drug use, behavioral efficacy, knowledge of HIV infection, and sexual practices. In addition, two focus groups were conducted in the high school and four in the university. The focus groups examined the women's perception of the role of cultural values and family communication in their ability to prevent high risk behaviors (alcohol and drug use, unsafe sexual practices). The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of Chicano scholarship, health promotion, and methodological issues in research with Latinas.