Problem Drinking among Transnational Mexican Migrants: Exploring Migrant Status and Situational Factors

Abstract

We present research finding son problem drinking among transnational Mexican migrants employed in the mushroom industry of southeastern Pennsylvania. Our research explored the relationship between situational factors-living arrangements, social isolation, and peer pressure to drink-and problem drinking. Individual characteristics of the migrants, such as age, education level, migration history, and work experience in the mushroom industry are also considered. The premise of our study is that the migrants' judicial status in the country-as foreign solo men and, at times, undocumented or illegal migrants-places them at a high risk to binge drink. The men mainly live without their families in relatively isolated, grower-provided housing or overcrowded apartment units for months, if not years, away from traditional community and kin deterrents to heavy drinking. We employed the ethnographic method in two complementary field studies: a community ethnography, designed to identify the community context of problem drinking, and a series of case studies of migrant drinkers, designed to identify the relationships between situational factors and problem drinking. Focus groups were used to explore and verify the findings being generated in the two studies. Our findings reveal that there is an alcohol abuse problem among the migrants as a consequence of situational and other factors, such as festive occasions, bad news from home, and a long workweek. Their binge drinking does not always result in negative behavior because the migrants follow drinking norms, and violators of these norms are dealt with accordingly. Nonetheless, binge drinking does place them at a high risk for negative behavior, which results in problems in their housing units and in local communities.

Alcohol Use and Problem Drinking Among Male Mexican and Central American Im/migrant Laborers

“…Among male Mexican migrants working in the Pennsylvania mushroom industry, researchers García and González (see: García & Gondolf, 2004), observed light drinking (1 to 3 beers) after the workday and heavy weekend drinking (ranging from 3 to 24 beers per individual) on weekend evenings (Friday, Saturday, and sometimes Sunday). Although men employed in the mushroom industry are not all weekly binge drinkers, when occasional and regular drinkers are drinking together, up to 80% of men present might drink on a weekend night (García, 2007). Similarly, ethnographic observation among male agricultural workers in Monterey County, California, in a State of California Department of Health study (Ritieni et al, 2007), noted evening drinking parties or "carousing" in local bars on weekends (Saturdays and/or Sundays) but emphasized that in the labor camp setting "regular weeknight drinking is ever present and routinized into after-dinner beer drinking" (Quesada, personal communication, December 2005).…”

Alcohol Consumption and Risk for Dependence Among Male Latino Migrant Farmworkers Compared to Latino Nonfarmworkers in North Carolina

“…Other research in North Carolina (Kim-Goodwin and Fox, 2009) and Florida (Cherry and Rost, 2009) indicates high levels of potential alcohol abuse among farmworkers. Garcia (2007, 2008) argues that relatively high levels of alcohol abuse and dependence among farmworkers result from nontraditional and crowded living arrangements, social isolation, and the absence of kin and family.…”

Shifting from Village-Based Networks to Locally Generated Networks: Undocumented Mexican Agricultural Workers Who Use/Used Hard Drugs

“…Two men who came with close kin had no experience with internal migration in Mexico (González, Ramos). Having a destination plan becomes possible through village-based networking and travel [5,6,9,12,13,15,17,18,[45][46][47]. Despite a destination plan prior to their crossing, Mr. González and father, brothers, and cousins (Midwest) and Mr. Ramos and his brother (border state), each of the two has spent most of their time in another state.…”

“…Except for the distinction of founding an AA chapter and ten days of wilderness survival the first time that he 2 Journal of Anthropology crossed the international border, Mr. Gardel's story shares similarities with several generations of men and women in US agriculture from Central America and Mexico: (a) persistent return to this country despite deportation [3][4][5][6], (b) lowpaid employment and little security [7][8][9][10][11][12][13] and inconsistent enforcement of safety regulations [10][11][12], (c) investment of earnings to purchase property, consumer goods, and house construction in Mexico [3,5,14,15], and (d) difficulties that accompany consumption of alcohol [16][17][18][19] and drugs [20][21][22].…”