What Accounts for Differences in Substance Use Among U.S.-Born and Immigrant Hispanic Adolescents?: Results from a Longitudinal Prospective Cohort Study

Prado, Guillermo; Huang, Shi; Schwartz, Seth J.; Maldonado-Molina, Mildred M.; Bandiera, Frank C.; de la Rosa, Mario; Pantin, Hilda

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.12.011

« Previous Next »Journal of Adolescent Health
Volume 45, Issue 2 , Pages 118-125, August 2009

What Accounts for Differences in Substance Use Among U.S.-Born and Immigrant Hispanic Adolescents?: Results from a Longitudinal Prospective Cohort Study

Guillermo Prado, Ph.D.
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
- Address correspondence to: Guillermo Prado, Ph.D., Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami, 1425 N.W. 10th Avenue, Third floor, Miami, FL 33136.
Shi Huang, Ph.D.
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
Seth J. Schwartz, Ph.D.
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
Mildred M. Maldonado-Molina, Ph.D.
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Policy, College of Medicine and Institute for Child Health Policy, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Frank C. Bandiera, M.P.H.
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
Mario de la Rosa, Ph.D.
- School of Social Work, College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, Florida
Hilda Pantin, Ph.D.
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida

Received 22 July 2008; accepted 4 December 2008. published online 24 February 2009.

Abstract

Purpose

The current study was conducted to ascertain whether the effects of nativity (i.e., U.S. born vs. immigrant) on Hispanic adolescent substance use is mediated by ecological processes such as family functioning, school connectedness, and perceived peer substance use.

Methods

The effects of family, peer, and school processes on adolescent substance use were examined in a nationally representative sample of 742 (358 male, 384 female) Hispanic youth (mean age = 15.9; SD = 1.8).

Results

Results from a structural equation model indicated that the higher rates of substance use among U.S.-born Hispanics (compared with foreign-born Hispanics) are partially mediated by perceived peer substance use (as measured by the adolescent). The results also showed that perceived peer substance use and school connectedness mediate the relationship between family processes and substance use, suggesting that family processes may offset some of the deleterious effects of negative peer selection on adolescent substance use.

Conclusion

These findings imply that public health behavioral interventions to prevent substance use among both U.S.-born and foreign-born Hispanics may need to attend to multiple ecological processes, including family, school, and peers.

Keywords: Substance use, Hispanic, Adolescents, Nativity, Immigrant