Perceived Normalization of Drug Trafficking and Adolescent Substance Use on the US–Mexico Border

Abstract

Adolescents residing on the US–Mexico border are at disproportionate risk for substance misuse due to environmental risk factors, including high unemployment, high concentration of liquor licenses, drug-trade–related violence, border militarization, and inadequate access to prevention, treatment, and support services for substance misuse. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the association between high perceived normalization of drug trafficking and cross-border purchase, and past 30-day substance use (tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana) in a sample of 445 primarily Mexican American adolescents living on the US–Mexico border. Adolescents with higher perceived normalization of drug trafficking scores were more likely to have crossed the border to purchase (OR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.07, 1.28) and use substances (OR = 1.08, 95% CI 1.00, 1.17). The economic and normative environment of border communities must be considered in the formation of interventions targeted at substance use risk prevention and mitigation, and involve binational support from organizations, policy makers, and community members.

Contingências e fatores associados ao uso de substâncias de jovens com diferentes padrões de conduta delituosa

“…Estudos mostram que contextos comunitários permeados pelo tráfico de drogas e por valores de normalização do tráfico são fatores de risco significativos a desempenhar um papel importante para a manifestação e para a manutenção do uso de substâncias, especialmente da maconha, de forma a dessensibilizar os jovens em relação aos prejuízos advindos do uso, e aumentando o acesso às substâncias (Valdez et al, 2021;Valdez et al, 2022). Uma significante parte de crimes cometidos poderiam ser evitados se os infratores não se encontrassem sob efeitos do uso de substâncias ou em busca de substâncias (Young et al, 2021).…”