© 2005 American Public Health Association DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2003.037051
The authors are with the Institute for Social Research, Ann Arbor, Mich. Jorge Delva is also with the School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; John M. Wallace Jr is also with the School of Social Work and the Center on Race and Social Problems, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa; and John E. Schulenberg is also with the Department of Psychology, University of Michigan. Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Jorge Delva, PhD, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, Room 2344, PO Box 1248, 426 Thompson St, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248 (e-mail: jdelva{at}umich.edu).
Objectives. We compared trends in and correlates of marijuana use, cocaine use, and heavy alcohol use for adolescents of Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and other Latin American heritage in the United States. Methods. We used/examined data from nationally representative samples of eighth-grade Hispanic students who participated in the Monitoring the Future study during the years 19912002 (n=24235). Results. Drug use was significantly higher among boys and adolescents of almost all Hispanic ethnicities who did not live with both parents. In addition, drug use differed considerably according to ethnic group on language first spoken, parental education, urbanicity, and region. Conclusions. A better understanding of the homogeneity and heterogeneity of drug use patterns within and between Hispanic groups should assist in the development of prevention programs.
Despite recent downward trends in drug use among American youths, drug use among Hispanic young people remains disturbingly high.1,2 The relatively high prevalence of drug use among Hispanic youths is of particular concern because of recent demographic trends: relative to the general population, Hispanic youths have higher school dropout rates,3 a higher proportion of families living in poverty,4 and a higher proportion of births among 15- to 19-year-old women.5 Furthermore, the Hispanic population is significantly younger than the general population, has the highest fertility rate among all racial and ethnic groups,6 and has become the largest racial and ethnic minority group in the United States.7 The US Census Bureau estimated that by the year 2050, Hispanics will make up nearly 25% of the total population.8 These demographic and social trends underscore the need to increase our understanding of drug use among Hispanic youths. To date, however, most studies of adolescent drug use either have not included data on Hispanic adolescents or have aggregated data across groups, thus failing to capture the potential heterogeneity that exists within the broad Hispanic population. The limited number of studies that provide information about drug use among specific Hispanic ethnicities have generally been confined to a single school district, a city, or a small cluster of cities.912 We addressed some of the limitations of prior research and sought to increase knowledge about patterns, trends, and sociodemographic correlates of substance use within the largest subgroups of the Hispanic population. We focused on eighth-grade students to identify sociodemographic correlates of drug use among a nationally representative sample of Hispanic students before their transition to high school, when they might be at greater risk of dropping out of school.3 The sociodemographic characteristics we found to be associated with drug use could serve as targets of prevention interventions among youths who are at the early stages of drug involvement. Guided by previous research that found drug use to vary according to gender, acculturation level, socioeconomic status (SES), and parental influence,1315 we focused specifically on assessing the magnitude of variation in drug use among a nationally representative sample of Hispanic eighth-grade students.
Sample and Survey Methods We used 19912002 data from the University of Michigans Monitoring the Future project. The design and methods are summarized briefly here; a detailed description is available elsewhere.16 The Monitoring the Future study employs a multistage sampling design to obtain nationally representative samples of secondary school students (i.e., 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students) from the 48 contiguous states. Data have been collected annually from high school seniors since 1975. Beginning in 1991, data have been collected annually from 8th- and 10th-grade students. The sampling procedures involve 3 stages17: (1) geographic regions are selected, (2) schools are selected (without replacement)approximately 420 each year, (3) between 42000 and 49000 students are sampled annually from within schools. Sample weights are assigned to each student to account for school sample sizes as well as for any variation in selection probabilities that occurs at earlier stages of the sampling procedures. The analyses presented here focus on a sample of 24 235 students who self-identified as Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban American, or other Latin American ethnicity. To examine trends in drug use, we aggregated data into four 3-year intervals (19911993, 19941996, 19971999, 20002002). To determine how these trends compared with the entire US population, we included trend data for all eighth-grade students who participated in the Monitoring the Future study. To examine differences in the distribution of drug use by demographic and social characteristics, we aggregated data for the entire 19912002 period to obtain a sufficiently large number of respondents to permit inferences regarding each of the population groups.
Measures
The dependent variables were defined as the proportion of students who (1) used marijuana during the past 12 months, (2) used cocaine during the past 12 months, and (3) drank heavily (consumption of 5 or more drinks in a row on at least 1 occasion) during the past 2 weeks. The predictor variables were gender, language first spoken as a child, parental education, number of parents living in the household, urbanicity, and region. Gender was measured by the question "What is your sex?" and the following response categories: male, female. Language first spoken was measured by the question "What was the first language you spoke when you were a child?" and the following response categories: English, Spanish, some other language. We excluded the latter response category because the percentage of Hispanic students who answered that they first spoke a language other than English or Spanish was too small (Table 1
Finally, students Hispanic ethnicity was measured by "How do you describe yourself?" and the following response categories: Mexican American or Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban American, or other Latin American. We recognized that the "other Latin American" response category included a very heterogeneous population, possibly masking important within- and between-group differences. Unfortunately, more refined measures for these populations were not available in our data sets. Nevertheless, the response categories provided allowed us to analyze drug use among the largest Hispanic ethnic groups in the United States
Data Analysis
Patterns and Trends in Drug Use According to Hispanic Ethnicity Table 1
Figure 1
Drug Use Prevalence and Sociodemographic Correlates
Marijuana use. As shown in Table 3
Cocaine use.
The results of the multivariate analyses showed that for all adolescents except those of other Latin American ethnicity, the estimated odds ratios predicting cocaine use were between 47% and 72% lower among students living in households with both parents than among students living in households with no parents (Table 3
Heavy drinking.
Results of the multivariate analyses indicated that the likelihood of heavy drinking was greatest among Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and Cuban American students who lived in households with no parents present and lower among Mexican American students whose first language spoken was Spanish (Table 3
In the United States, Hispanic adolescents are substantially overrepresented among eighth-grade students who use drugs.2 This finding is alarming, given prior findings documenting that youths who use drugs are at significantly greater risk of experiencing a host of social, economic, and health problems.1824 To better understand the epidemiology of drug use among Hispanic adolescents, we conducted separate analyses of drug use trends and sociodemographic correlates for adolescents belonging to Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban American, and other Latin American ethnicities for the years 19912002.
We identified a number of important similarities and differences in drug use patterns among the 4 Hispanic groups. These similarities and differences highlight the heterogeneity that exists within the various Hispanic populations and may serve to identify potential intervention targets. For example, the much higher prevalence of marijuana use estimated among Mexican American and Puerto Rican boys suggests that there is a need for more aggressive prevention efforts among these adolescents. It is important to note the lack of gender difference in the annual prevalence of marijuana use among adolescents of Cuban ethnicities (Table 2 Research has suggested that the associations among peer, parental, and familial influences, exposure opportunity, and drug use vary by gender.14,15,2527 Therefore, our findings point to important differences and similarities in drug use opportunities among Hispanic boys and girls. These differences require further investigation. Our findings suggest the existence of substance-specific mechanisms that determine access to drugs and decisions to use or abstain from drug use given the opportunity. Gender differences, or lack thereof in some cases, in drug-using opportunities among Hispanic youths deserve further investigation. Two decades ago, the likelihood of drug involvement among Hispanic girls was considerably lower than that among Hispanic boys and among non-Hispanic girls.2,28 Such trends are no longer present. Relative to 2 decades ago, during the 1990s the United States saw a significant increase in the prevalence of drug use among Hispanic youths in general and among Hispanic girls in particular; for many substances, the prevalence of drug use among Hispanic boys and girls is now higher than that among non-Hispanic boys and girls.2,29 What accounts for this large increase in drug use among Hispanic youths is not yet understood. Prevention programs developed and implemented during the 1980s and 1990s either have failed to reach Hispanic youths or have been ineffective in preventing the onset of drug use or in helping youths discontinue drug use if they are already using drugs. Perhaps the scope and effectiveness of prevention programs can be increased if greater attention is paid to the specific characteristics associated with drug use for each of the Hispanic groups. For example, in this study we observed an association between language first spoken and marijuana and alcohol use among some, but not all, Hispanic groups. Specifically, the likelihood of marijuana or heavy alcohol use was significantly lower among Mexican American adolescents whose first language spoken was Spanish compared with those whose first language spoken was English. Among adolescents of other Latin American ethnicities, the likelihood of marijuana use also was lower among those whose first language spoken was Spanish; however, language first spoken and heavy alcohol use were not associated in this group. By contrast, no association was observed between language first spoken and drug use among Puerto Rican and Cuban American adolescents. If first language spoken is taken as a proxy for acculturation, these findings suggest that associations between acculturation and drug use found by previous research2833 might differ by Hispanic group and by type of drug. Without a measure of acculturation, it was not possible to know with precision how and what acculturative differences exist between adolescents and their families that might shed further light on the relationship of acculturation and drug use. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that for Mexican American and Latin American youths of other ethnicities, programs aimed at preventing and reducing marijuana use may be more effective if they pay greater attention to acculturation experiences, whereas programs that target cocaine use and heavy drinking may not need to place the same emphasis on acculturation. Finally, one finding is consistent across all Hispanic groups and drugs studied and therefore has important implications for prevention. The likelihood of drug use was estimated to be significantly higher among adolescents who do not live with their parents than among adolescents who live with both parents. This finding identifies a highly vulnerable and fairly large population in need of prevention services: youths who live with relatives or who are in foster care. The positive or protective influences of parental communication, supervision, and support have been well documented34; however, less is known about drug use patterns and drug prevention among youths who are not living with their parents. Prior research has shown that at-risk youths who develop meaningful relationships with other caring adults (e.g., grandparents, neighbors, teachers) are less likely to initiate drug use than are at-risk youths without such support.35 Although little is known about the ways in which Hispanic youths may overcome the challenges of living away from their parents, these studies indicate that Hispanic youths who develop such supportive networks might be at lower risk of initiating drug use. Further research is needed to identify the factors and mechanisms that increase the risk of drug use among Hispanic youths who do not live with their parents. Our findings support the surgeon generals36 and the National Institutes of Healths37 calls for more attention to be paid to the heterogeneity of populations to better understand the distribution and burden of disease and to target and tailor interventions appropriately. We hope that the information presented in this study contributes to the substance abuse fields understanding of the epidemiology of drug use and suggests future areas of investigation among the largest Hispanic ethnic groups in the United States.
Data collection for this research was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, US Department of Health and Human Services (grant R01-DA 01411). We thank Tanya Hart for editorial assistance and Timothy Perry for assistance with data analysis.
Human Participant Protection
Peer Reviewed
Contributors Accepted for publication May 20, 2004.
1. Johnston LD, OMalley PM, Bachman JG. Demographic Subgroup Trends for Various Licit and Illicit Drugs, 19752001. Ann Arbor, Mich: Institute for Social Research; 2002. Monitoring the Future Occasional Paper 57. Available at: http://monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/occpapers/occ57.pdf. Accessed December 31, 2004. 2. Johnston LD, OMalley PM, Bachman JG. Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 19752002. Bethesda, Md: National Institute on Drug Abuse; 2003. NIH publication 03-5375. 3. Enrollment status of the population 3 years old and over, by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, nativity, and selected educational characteristics: October 2000. US Census Bureau. Available at: http://www.census.Washington,DC:gov/population/socdemo/school/ppl-148/tab01.txt. Accessed June 26, 2003. 4. Poverty: 1999 (census brief). Washington, DC: US Census Bureau. Available at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-19.pdf. Accessed June 26, 2003. 5. Fertility of American Women: June 2000. Population Characteristics. Washington, DC: US Census Bureau; 2001. Publication P20-543RV. Available at: http://www.census.gov. Accessed June 26, 2003. 6. Projections of the total resident population by 5-year age groups, race, and Hispanic origin with special age categories: middle series, 2001 to 2005. Washington, DC: US Census Bureau. Available at: www.census.gov/population/projections/nation/summary/np-t4-b.pdf. Accessed February 28, 2003. 7. USA Statistics in Brief. Washington, DC: US Census Bureau. Available at: http://www.census.gov/statab/www/poprace.html. Accessed January 4, 2005. 8. Projected total fertility rates by race and Hispanic origin, 1999 to 2100. Washington, DC: US Census Bureau. Available at: www.census.gov/population/projections/nation/summary/np-t7-a.pdf. Accessed February 28, 2003. 9. Arellano CM, Chavez EL, Deffenbacher JL. Alcohol use and academic status among Mexican American and non-White Hispanic adolescents. Adolescence. 1998;33:751760.[Web of Science][Medline] 10. Brook JS, Whiteman M, Balka EB, Win PT, Gursen MD. Drug use among Puerto Ricans: ethnic identity as a protective factor. Hispanic J Behav Sci. 1998;20:241254. 11. Epstein JA, Botvin GJ, Diaz T. Alcohol use among Dominican and Puerto Rican adolescents residing in New York City: role of Hispanic group and gender. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2001;22:113118.[Web of Science][Medline]
12. Vega WA, Zimmerman RS, Warheit GJ, Apospori E, Gil AG. Risk factors for early adolescent drug use in four ethnic and racial groups. Am J Public Health. 1993;83:185189. 13. Botvin GJ, Schinke S, Orlandi MA (eds). Drug Abuse Prevention With Multiethnic Youth. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage; 1995. 14. Guo J, Hill KG, Hawkins D, Catalano RF, Abbott RD. A developmental analysis of sociodemographic, family, and peer effects on adolescent illicit drug initiation. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2002;41:838845.[CrossRef][Medline] 15. Bachman JG, Wadsworth KN, OMalley PM, Johnston LD, Schulenberg J. Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use in Young Adulthood: The Impacts of New Freedoms and New Responsibilities. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 1997. 16. Bachman JG, Johnston LD, OMalley PM. The Monitoring the Future Project After 27 Years: Design and Procedures. Ann Arbor, Mich: Institute for Social Research; 2001. Monitoring the Future Occasional Paper 54. 17. Kish I. Survey Sampling. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 1965. 18. Arria AM, Dohey MA, Mezzich AC, Bukstein OG, VanThiel DH. Self-reported health problems and physical symptomatology in adolescent alcohol abusers. J Adolesc Health. 1995;16:226231.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
19. DuRant RH, Krowchuk DP, Kreiter S, Sinal SH, Woods CR. Weapon carrying on school property among middle school students. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999; 153:2126. 20. Mensch BS, Kandel DB. Dropping out of high school and drug involvement. Soc Educ. 1988;61: 95113.[CrossRef] 21. Newcomb MD, Bentler PM. Consequences of Adolescent Drug Use: Impact on the Lives of Young Adults. Newbury Park, Calif: Sage; 1988. 22. Newcomb MD, Schieier LM, Bentler PM. Effects of adolescent drug use on adult mental health: a prospective study of a community sample. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 1993;1:215241. 23. Office of Technology Assessment. Adolescent health. Background and the effectiveness of selected prevention and treatment services. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 1991:499578. Publication OTA-H-466. 24. Shedler J, Block J. Adolescent drug use and psychological health: a longitudinal inquiry. Am Psychol. 1990;45:612630.[CrossRef][Medline]
25. Wagner FA, Anthony JC. Into the world of illegal drug use: exposure opportunity and other mechanisms linking the use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and cocaine. Am J Epidemiol. 2002;155:918925. 26. Delva J, VanEtten ML, González G, et al. First opportunities to try drugs and the transition to first drug use: evidence from a national school survey in Panama. Subst Use Misuse. 1999;34:14511467.[Web of Science][Medline] 27. Chilcoat HD, Anthony JC. Impact of parent monitoring on initiation of drug use through late childhood. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1996;35:91100.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] 28. Wallace JM, Bachman JG, OMalley PM, Schulenberg JE, Cooper SM, Johnston LD. Gender and ethnic differences in smoking, drinking, and illicit drug use among American 8th, 10th and 12th grade students, 19762000. Addiction. 2003;98:225234.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] 29. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Drug Use Among Racial and Ethnic Minorities. Bethesda, Md: National Institute on Drug Abuse; 2003. NIH publication 03-3888. 30. Ortega AN, Rosenbeck R, Alegría M, Desai RA. Acculturation and lifetime risk of psychiatric and substance use disorders among Hispanics. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2000;188:728735.[Web of Science][Medline] 31. LaFromboise T, Coleman HL, Gerton J. Psychological impact of biculturalism: evidence and theory. Psychol Bull. 1993;114:395412.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
32. Vega WA, Kolody B, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Alderate E, Catalano R, Carveo-Anduaga J. Lifetime prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders among urban and rural Mexican Americans in California. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1998;55:771778. 33. Szalay LB, Canino G, Vilov SK. Vulnerabilities and cultural change: drug use among Puerto Rican adolescents in the United States. Int J Addict. 1993;28: 327354.[Web of Science][Medline] 34. Hawkins JD, Catalano RF, Miller JY. Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: implications for substance abuse prevention. Psychol Bull. 1992;112: 4105. 35. Werner EE, Smith RS. Overcoming the Odds: High Risk Children From Birth to Adulthood. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press; 1999. 36. Mental Health, Culture, Race, and Ethnicity. Washington, DC: US Dept of Health and Human Services; 2001. 37. Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents: A Research-Based Guide for Parents, Educators, and Community Leaders. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: US Dept of Health and Human Services; 2003. This article has been cited by other articles:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||