NCJ Number
147381
Journal
International Journal of the Addictions Volume: 27 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1992) Pages: 1197-1209
Date Published
1992
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study used data from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (National Center for Health Statistics, 1985) to examine whether family structure is related to alcohol and drug use among Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban American adolescents.
Abstract
The survey relied on self-report measures of alcohol and drug use (marijuana, barbiturates, inhalants, and cocaine). Three subsamples consisted of 144 Cuban, 299 Puerto Rican, and 794 Mexican adolescents. A presentation of means and percentages of all variables in the three groups is followed by regression analyses, with alcohol consumption, drug use, and risk-taking behavior as the dependent variables. Besides examining the additive effects of the independent variables, the researchers tested for the interactive effect of sex and family structure. This determined whether the relationship between gender and risk-taking behaviors was significantly different between male and female adolescents in these household structures. Mexican adolescents living in female-headed households had higher rates of drinking, drug use, and overall risk-taking behaviors than those living with both parents. Puerto Rican adolescents living in female-headed households had higher rates than those living with both parents only on the overall index of risk-taking behaviors. In contrast, Cuban family structure was unrelated to adolescent risk-taking behavior. There were consistent gender differences in risk-taking behaviors between Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, with males reporting higher rates of alcohol, drugs, and overall risk behaviors than females. The diversity of findings among the three groups shows that research results from one Hispanic group should not be generalized to all Hispanic groups. 4 tables and 32 references