Patterns and Practices of Alcohol Use among Mexican Americans: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

While there has been a growing concern with alcohol-related problems among Mexican Americans and an increase in research devoted to learning more about alcohol use in this population, data on these issues are widely scattered. Differences in perspectives on alcohol-related issues and variation in research methodologies have produced a body of information which must be viewed as a whole before distinct patterns can be clearly seen. These circumstances have made it difficult to apply research findings in the design of programs that would be relevant and useful to Mexican Americans suffering problems related to alcohol. Using a framework based on the foci of ethnic alcohol studies in the United States, this review provides information on modal patterns of alcohol use in Mexico, and on the prevalence and level of alcohol use among Mexican Americans. Factors affecting intra-ethnic variation in Mexican American alcohol practices, such as region, gender, age, acculturation and social class are documented. The prevalence and incidence of social and medical problems associated with excessive alcohol use in this population are summarized. Consideration is given to the role of acculturation stress in the etiology of alcohol abuse among Mexican Americans. Conceptual and methodological problems in past research are critically assessed, discontinuities in the literature identified, and areas in particular need of research are delineated.

The Effects of Mexican origin family structure on parental monitoring and pre‐adolescent substance use expectancies and substance use

“…Parents' ability to supervise and control their children's behaviour becomes particularly compromised when the adolescents learn English and build their own peer network outside the Mexican immigrant community (Wall, Power, & Arbona, 1993). As a result, families lose their ability to seek support through social networks and cannot provide sufficient protection for their children (Gilbert & Cervantes, 1986;Vega, Zimmerman, Warheit, Apospori, & Gil, 1997).…”

Binge Drinking Among Latino Youth: Role of Acculturation-Related Variables.

“…Alcohol consumption is one such outcome that has been found to be associated with acculturation-related concepts (Caetano, 1989;Gilbert & Cervantes, 1986;Johnson, Gruenewald, Treno, & Taff, 1998). Despite the increasing attention that acculturation has received for understanding the health-related behavior of Latinos, there is disagreement about how acculturation influences Latino health outcomes.…”

Country of origin, age of drinking onset, and drinking patterns among Mexican American young adults

“…These studies often show conflicting results (Black et al, 1993;Corbett et al, 1991;Caetano, 1987;Caetano, 1988;Nielsen, 2001;Randolph et al, 1998). For example, acculturation may lead to abstention or more frequent drinking depending upon the region in which the immigrant resides (Caetano, 1989); alcohol use increases with increasing acculturation among females (Borges et al, 2006;Caetano et al, 1988;Neff and Hoppe, 1992;Vega and Amaro, 1994;Zemore, 2005) but less so or not at all among males (Borges et al, 2006;Marin, 1996;Marin and Marin, 1997;Marin and Posner, 1995;Neff and Hoppe, 1992;Zemore, 2005); alcohol consumption decreases among the more highly acculturated (Markides et al, 1990;Murguia et al, 1998;Neff et al, 1987;Neff and Hoppe, 1992); and drinking context varies (Gilbert, 1985;Gilbert, 1988;Gilbert and Cervantes, 1986). Assumptions about the relationship between acculturation and alcohol use, together with methodological limitations in the use of alcohol outcomes, control, and moderating variables in studies, have been used to explain the inconsistent results (Gutmann, 1999;Zemore, 2005).…”