Migration Intentions and Alcohol Use Among Adolescents in West-Central Mexico

Abstract

This study explores the association between migration intentions and alcohol use among west-central Mexico adolescents living in high migration communities. This study used the baseline data from the Family Migration and Early Life Outcomes (FAMELO) project (N = 1286), collected in 2018. We used multiple imputations to address missingness and propensity score matching to reduce the selection bias. We also conducted subgroup analyses to compare gender difference (i.e., boys vs. girls) on the relationship between migration intention and alcohol use. The findings show that for the whole sample, youth with migration intentions had significant higher odds (OR = 1.78; p = .010) of having a lifetime drinking experience when compared to youth who reported no interest in living abroad, but this association remained significant only for boys (OR = 2.14; p = .010). This study makes an important contribution to our understanding of the etiology of migration intentions and alcohol use for adolescents living in sending migration communities. The findings have specific alcohol prevention, policy, and future research implications in Mexico and the U.S.

The Relationship Between Pre-Departure Risk-Related Indicators and Post-Pandemic Emigration Plans Among Adolescents

“…Interestingly, from the studied health related behaviors in relation to post-pandemic emigration plans, it was also found that adolescents who reported alcohol consumption were over 2 times more likely to report post-pandemic emigration plans than those who did not report alcohol consumption in this study. This study contributes to the previous findings focused on the migration intentions and alcohol use (Marsiglia, Wu, Han et al, 2021), on the understanding pre-departure migrationhealth associations (Gushulak & MacPherson, 2011), and the results of this study support the hypothesis of self-selection of young people likely to use alcohol into pre/migrant group (Borges, G., Breslau, J., Orozco et al, 2011).…”

“…A gender dimension to migration intentions, aspirations was confirmed (Marsiglia, Wu, Han et al, 2021). Accordingly, the results of this study showed girls' higher level of study abroad intention and a larger percentage of girls also reported post-pandemic emigration plans.…”

The Fear of Coronavirus-19, Emigration Intentions and Adolescent Alcohol Consumption

“…The results of this study support the hypothesis of self-selection of young people likely to use alcohol into a pre-migrant group (Borges et al, 2011) and contribute to previous findings focused on migration intentions and alcohol use (Marsiglia et al, 2021) by improving the understanding of pre-departure migrationhealth associations (Gushulak & MacPherson, 2011). However, the cross-sectional nature of this investigation has limited this understanding and suggested that longitudinal studies are needed for this objective.…”

“…The importance of the role of gender in the context of migration intentions and aspirations has been confirmed (Marsiglia et al, 2021). The results of this study showed that girls had higher levels of intention to study abroad.…”

Urban Violence, Migration and Alcohol, Tobacco, and Marijuana Use among Transnational Students in Northern Mexico

“…On the other hand, a study that explored the relationship between migration intentions and alcohol use in youth living in rural and semi-urban communities from Jalisco, Mexico, showed that youth with migration intentions had significantly higher odds of having used alcohol. This study also reported that adolescents who spoke English as a second language and had intentions to migrate had significantly higher odds of using alcohol [21].…”