TY - JOUR
T1 - Drinking patterns among Hispanic adolescents
T2 - Results from a National Household Survey
AU - Nielsen, A. L.
AU - Ford, J. A.
PY - 2001/1/1
Y1 - 2001/1/1
N2 - Objective: This is one of the first studies to examine and compare alcohol use for adolescent Cubans, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics. Method: The data come from the 1993 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), a national probability sample of the U.S. household population. The sample examined here (N = 1,865, 52% male) comprises 200 Cubans, 1,133 Mexican Americans, 255 Puerto Ricans and 277 Central/South Americans who were 12 to 17 years old. Drinking patterns are measured using a quantity-frequency index, and analyses are conducted using Stata. Results: In the cross-tabulations, no ethnic differences in drinking patterns are found for males or females, nor is there evidence of gender differences within ethnic groups, although there are some age differences in alcohol use. In the logistic regression analyses, two ethnic differences emerge, although the factors most consistently associated with drinking behaviors in these analyses are age, Spanish language use and urban residence. Additional analyses using the 1998 NHSDA suggest that ethnic differences in alcohol use may emerge in late adolescence/early adulthood. Conclusions: Given the established findings of ethnic and gender differences in drinking among adult Hispanics, it is surprising that few differences are evidenced in adolescence. Future research should explore whether such differences emerge during the transition into adulthood and, if so, identify factors that produce them. In addition, to increase understanding of these ethnic groups' drinking patterns, future research should further investigate the factors associated with Hispanic adolescents' alcohol use, including both consideration of whether the predictors are the same across groups and of the role of sociocultural factors.
AB - Objective: This is one of the first studies to examine and compare alcohol use for adolescent Cubans, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics. Method: The data come from the 1993 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), a national probability sample of the U.S. household population. The sample examined here (N = 1,865, 52% male) comprises 200 Cubans, 1,133 Mexican Americans, 255 Puerto Ricans and 277 Central/South Americans who were 12 to 17 years old. Drinking patterns are measured using a quantity-frequency index, and analyses are conducted using Stata. Results: In the cross-tabulations, no ethnic differences in drinking patterns are found for males or females, nor is there evidence of gender differences within ethnic groups, although there are some age differences in alcohol use. In the logistic regression analyses, two ethnic differences emerge, although the factors most consistently associated with drinking behaviors in these analyses are age, Spanish language use and urban residence. Additional analyses using the 1998 NHSDA suggest that ethnic differences in alcohol use may emerge in late adolescence/early adulthood. Conclusions: Given the established findings of ethnic and gender differences in drinking among adult Hispanics, it is surprising that few differences are evidenced in adolescence. Future research should explore whether such differences emerge during the transition into adulthood and, if so, identify factors that produce them. In addition, to increase understanding of these ethnic groups' drinking patterns, future research should further investigate the factors associated with Hispanic adolescents' alcohol use, including both consideration of whether the predictors are the same across groups and of the role of sociocultural factors.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0034891782&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0034891782&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.15288/jsa.2001.62.448
DO - 10.15288/jsa.2001.62.448
M3 - Article
C2 - 11513223
AN - SCOPUS:0034891782
VL - 62
SP - 448
EP - 456
JO - Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
JF - Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
SN - 1937-1888
IS - 4
ER -