This paper conducts a review of the literature on acculturation by Latino adolescents to traditional European-American cultural values and its effect on their substance-using behaviors. This review includes a critical analysis of studies that examine the effects of acculturation on the mental wellbeing of Latino adolescents. Recent findings documenting the association between acculturation and substance use among Latino adolescents are discussed. This paper also examines the limitations of the current research and proposes the development of acculturation scales that focus on measuring the role that predominant Latino and American values, attitudes, and norms play in the substance-use behavior of Latino adolescents. Additionally, the author proposes the development of a conceptual framework that accounts for the impact of acculturation-related stress and the mitigating factors affecting such stress on the substance-use behavior of Latino adolescents. The author asserts that understanding the effects of acculturation-related stress and accompanying mitigating factors could begin to explain the increasingly high rates of substance use reported for Latino adolescents. There is a discussion of research gaps and related research issues, and recommendations for future research are also made.

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.

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This study investigates a theorized link between Latino immigrants’ experience of acculturative stress during their two initial years in the United States (US) and declines in family cohesion from pre- to post-immigration contexts. This retrospective cohort study included 405 adult participants. Baseline assessment occurred during participants’ first 12 months in the US. Follow-up assessment occurred during participants’ second year in the US. General linear mixed models were used to estimate change in family cohesion and sociocultural correlates of this change. Inverse associations were determined between acculturative stress during initial years in the US and declines in family cohesion from pre-immigration to post-immigration contexts. Participants with undocumented immigration status, those with lower education levels, and those without family in the US generally indicated lower family cohesion. Participants who experienced more acculturative stress and those without family in the US evidenced a greater decline in family cohesion. Results are promising in terms of implications for health services for recent Latino immigrants.