Author: Alex Thompson

12 Hispanic Americans On Different Pathways to Addiction Recovery

One study has shown that low-SES Latinos, specifically of Mexican-origin, in the United States may be at disproportionate risk of harmful drinking patterns pervasive in their country of origin [22]. Given that Hispanics/Latinos are more likely to experience SES disparities in the United States [23], more research is needed. The present analyses used data from a cross-sectional study with a sample of 200 participants from the Project on Health among Emerging Adult Latinos (Project HEAL). A quota sampling design was used to enroll participants in Maricopa County, Arizona and Miami-Dade County, Florida. The target quota for Arizona was 100 participants and within Arizona we aimed to enroll 15 non-college student women, 15 non-college student men, 35 college student women, and 35 college student men. Prospective participants were recruited (1) in-person by distributing flyers, (2) posting flyers with tear-off tabs, (3) social media, and (4) by emailing an announcement that described the study aims and procedures to organizations and individuals who may have had access to the target sample.

Characteristics of Latino Immigrants with or without a family history of alcohol use at baseline. Descriptive statistics including means, standard deviations were generated for all continuous variables and frequencies and proportions were generated for all categorical variables. Univariate comparisons of the mentioned variables by study site were carried out with the chi-square test for categorical variables, and a t-test for continuous variables. Bivariate correlations between study variables were assessed using a Pearson correlation coefficient. Although the U.S. standard drink (alcoholic drink equivalent) amounts are helpful for following health guidelines, they may not reflect customary serving sizes.

Research shows that between 1992 and 2002, there was a decrease in the number of Hispanic men ages 18–29 who received a DUI but an increase in the number of Hispanic women ages 18–29 who received this citation. About 9.5% of Hispanics will have severe alcohol use disorder (AUD) at some point in their lives as compared with about 13.8% of non-Hispanic White people. However, 33.0% of Hispanics who develop severe AUD have recurrent or persistent problems as compared with 22.8% of non-Hispanic White people. Across all Hispanic national groups, beer is the preferred beverage, followed by wine and then liquor. In 2007 she realized that her drinking was getting in the way of the life she wanted to live, and she chose to enter recovery. Since then, she has been candid about her sobriety and the benefits it has brought to her life, family, and career.

National Hispanic and Latino Mental Health Technology Transfer Center

In addition, while the alcohol concentrations listed above are typical, there is considerable variability in alcohol content within each type of beverage. Research shows that young, U.S.-born Hispanic men who are not Protestant tend to have relaxed attitudes toward drinking. Those who feel this way also are more likely to drink, to drink heavily, and to possibly have alcohol-related problems. Within the Hispanic community, Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans tend to have more relaxed attitudes about drinking than Cuban Americans.

Institutional Review Boards at all institutions (i.e., University of North Carolina, University of Miami, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Northwestern University, and San Diego State University) reviewed and approved the research. Professional boxer Mia St. John has been in recovery from alcohol use disorder from a very young age. In the wake of his loss, she battled mental illness and depression, which were made worse when COVID-19 restrictions limited her options for support meetings. Since then, St. John has been fighting her way back to better emotional balance and healthier recovery practice, and she has been advocating for addiction treatment to be recognized as essential in all meanings of the word.

Alcohol Use Severity among Hispanic Emerging Adults: Examining the Roles of Bicultural Self-efficacy and Acculturation

Compared to other racial/ethnic groups, Hispanic (inclusive of Latinos, Latinas, and Latinx) emerging adults had the second-highest prevalence of current alcohol use (50.1%), binge drinking (32.9%), and heavy drinking (8.0%), and the third-highest prevalence of alcohol use disorder (10.7%; SAMHSA, 2018). Over half (58%) were women, 40% had greater than a high school education, 23% were U.S. born (including mainland and U.S. territories), 25% preferred English as their first language, 50% were working either full or part-time, and 49% were married or living with a partner. Almost 30% were former drinkers (33%women, 27%men), and 52% were current drinkers (41%women, 63%men). Overall, 26% had no risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD) (39%women, 14%men), 65% were low risk for AUD (56%women, 74%men), and 9% were at-risk for AUD (5%women, 12.2%men). Two-way interaction with Hispanic orientation moderating the association between the social groundedness domain of bicultural self-efficacy and alcohol use severity.

Disseminating and implementing evidence-based practices and promising practices for mental disorders into the field. Preparation of this article was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [K01 AA025992] and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities [U54 MD002266, U54 MD012393, K01 MD013770]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official view of the National Institutes of Health. The authors would like to acknowledge Carlos Estrada and Irma Beatriz Vega de Luna for their work in recruiting participants. In fact, White Hispanic men have the highest rates of alcohol-related cirrhosis, a serious liver disease, of all ethnic or racial groups. But Black Hispanic men (e.g., from the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic, or Cuba) have the lowest cirrhosis rates when compared with non-Hispanic White men.

1. Preparation of this article was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [K01 AA025992] and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities [U54 MD002266, U54 MD012393, K01 MD013770].
2. He co-founded a nonalcoholic beverage company called Betera to help others drink less without feeling like they’re missing out.
3. The following limitations should be considered when interpreting the findings of this study.
4. Those who feel this way also are more likely to drink, to drink heavily, and to possibly have alcohol-related problems.

Despite these limitations, the present study highlights that distinct communities of settlement can modify associations between specific acculturation orientations and substance use behavior. This finding underscores the need for more multisite studies on acculturation and alcohol use. Bicultural self-efficacy is a novel construct in alcohol research and our findings suggest that this construct is relevant in alcohol research with Hispanic populations. However, our findings need to be replicated and more studies are needed with more diverse Hispanic samples (e.g., ages, nativity) and inclusion of other bicultural self-efficacy domains. Based on the interaction we found between acculturation and bicultural self-efficacy—future studies should continue to examine how other sociocultural processes may influence bicultural self-efficacy in relation to substance use behavior. Given these mixed findings and the rapid growth and diversity of Hispanics/Latinos in the U.S., more current research is needed to examine the relationship between various social factors and drinking patterns in this population.

Tyler Posey began his acting career young, and his drinking and drug use at almost the same time. He found himself caught up in what he called an “addict routine.” After a period of abstinence from substance use, he decided that his path to recovery included moderate use of alcohol and marijuana. He maintains contact with the recovery community who helped him through his struggles with uncontrolled substance use.

Jewish Community and Tradition in Recovery

An example the demonstrates the cultural and economic interconnectedness between Miami-Dade County and Latin America is that Miami is often referred to as the “Gateway of the Americas” (National Tour Association, 2004). To our knowledge, the HCHS/SOL study is the largest contemporary study to examine alcohol use and contributing factors among diverse Hispanic/Latino heritage groups. Results from this study show that prevalence and patterns of alcohol use vary among Hispanics/Latinos of diverse heritage, as well as by sex. Given the growing numbers of Mexican background individuals in the US, more research is needed to further examine factors that may contribute to at-risk alcohol use among this group. Further, more research is needed to examine acculturation levels and potential mediators (e.g., acculturative stress) and at-risk drinking for Hispanic/Latina women. Overall, these findings underlie the importance of tailoring research and intervention programs to examine socio-economic and sex-specific factors contributing to alcohol use among Hispanics/Latinos.

Acculturation and Alcohol

News anchor and television personality Elizabeth Vargas has been sober since 2014, with a recovery story that includes three stays at inpatient treatment. Though the paparazzi took the decision to go public about her addiction out of her hands, Vargas has become an advocate for others dealing with the same struggles since then. In 2016, she published a best-selling memoir that discusses her alcohol use disorder and recovery. Among Hispanics who drink, Mexican American men and women and South/Central American men are most likely to receive a citation for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Behavioral Health Equity

Also, the sample size adequacy limited the ability to examine subgroup variations attributable to different Hispanic heritage groups. Using PROCESS v3.2 for SPSS (Hayes, 2017), moderation analyses were conducted with 50,000 bootstraps to examine the extent to which potential moderating variables influenced the direction and/or strength of respective associations with alcohol use severity. All moderation analyses controlled for all variables in the HMR model that were not included in respective interaction terms.

Role repertoire refers to one’s level of confidence in using or learning culturally appropriate behaviors in relation to both cultural groups (David et al., 2009). It is hypothesized that a greater range of role repertoire facilitates positive interactions and reduces conflict, with both cultural groups (LaFromboise et al., 1993). For some context, we briefly describe some characteristics of Maricopa County, Arizona, and Miami-Dade County, Florida which are the two communities of settlement included in the present study.

Cultural practices include items such as language use, cultural customs, and social affiliations. In terms of identity, ethnic identification is the extent to which an individual endorses their ethnic group. With regard to US immigration, there is also Americanism or the extent to which an individual is attached to the US. Though each domain can have an influence of substance use, the retention of Hispanic cultural practices is considered protective against substance use including alcohol use (Schwartz et al., 2011). However, the influence of these cultural factors on alcohol use among Latino immigrants with a family history of alcohol use is largely unknown. Accordingly, the first aim of this study was to examine associations of acculturation orientations and domains of bicultural self-efficacy with alcohol use severity among Hispanic emerging adults.