Family Protection and Prevention of Alcohol Use Among Hispanic Youth at High Risk

Abstract

Research regarding prevention strategies for Hispanic youth stress the importance of family interventions because of the particular importance of family as a protective factor within the Hispanic community. Starting in 1995, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention conducted the National Cross-Site Evaluation of High Risk Youth Programs, a 5-year drug and alcohol prevention study with a sample of approximately 10,500 youth, including nearly 3,000 Hispanic youth. Youth were surveyed regarding their alcohol use patterns and risk and protective factors, with several measures of family relationships, including family connectedness, family supervision, and parental attitudes toward their child's alcohol use. Analyses indicate that family factors are highly linked to alcohol use among Hispanics, particularly among Hispanic females. Longitudinal growth curve analyses indicate that improving the connections that young Hispanic females have to their parents can have positive long-term effects on delaying or reducing their alcohol use.

Psychoactive substance use, family context and mental health among Brazilian adolescents, National Adolescent School-based Health Survey (PeNSE 2012)

“…These studies have been conducted frequently in other countries 8,11,12,15 . However, in Brazil, there are still few studies about this matter.…”

“…A longitudinal study in the United States indicated several protective factors in families, including family connection and cohesion, as well as family supervision. These parental attitudes led to the reduced use of alcohol 15 . Another important factor is mental health.…”

Examining Perceived Social Support, Positive Affection, and Spirituality, as Resilience Factors, Among Boys of Drug-Dependent Fathers

“…In another study aimed to identify preventive family factors among Hispanic youth at risk of alcohol use, the results revealed that family factors (including family connectedness, family supervision, and parental attitudes towards their child's alcohol use) were highly linked to alcohol use especially among Hispanic females. Moreover, the results of this study indicated that improving the parent-youth connections can have positive long-term impacts on decreasing their alcohol use and promoting their resilience (12). Other studies showed that enhancing the level of perceived social support led to an increase in the level of resilience and aided people in coping with their problems and emotions (13,14).…”

“…The relationship of social support with resilience can be effective in decreasing emotional problems and psychological stress among young people (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15).…”

Práticas alimentares parentais: a percepção de crianças acerca das estratégias educativas utilizadas no condicionamento do comportamento alimentar

“…As pesquisas que investigam as práticas educativas parentais apontam que elas estão relacionadas a diversos comportamentos, tais como: comportamentos antissociais dos filhos (Salvador & Weber, 2005); habilidades sociais dos filhos (Löhr, 2003;Weber, Flor, Viezzer, & Gusso, 2004); com maior facilidade do filho em enfrentar situações estressoras (Clark, Novak, & Dupree, 2002;Meesters & Murris, 2004;Wolfradt, Hempel, & Miles, 2003); sintomas depressivos nos filhos (Darling, 1999;Menegatti, 2002;Sander & McCarty, 2005); sintomas ansiosos (Hudson & Rapee, 2001;Weber, Biscaia, Pavei, & Brandenburg, 2003;Wolfradt, Hempel & Miles, 2003); comportamento agressivo (Alvarenga & Piccini, 2001;Ferreira & Marturano, 2002;Oliveira, Marin, Pires, Frizzo, Ravanello, & Rossato, 2002;Salvo, Silvares, & Toni, 2005); e com o uso de drogas e substâncias ilícitas (Cottrell, LI, Harris, D'alessandri, Atkins, Richardson, & Stanton, 2003;Sale, Sambrano, Springer, Peña, Pan, & Kasim, 2005).…”