Paper
Saturday, July 24, 2004
This presentation is part of : Health Promotion in Women
Acculturation and Substance Use Among Mexican Women
Elias Vasquez, RN, PhD1, Sun Mi Lee, RN, MPH, PhD1, Nilda (Nena) Peragallo, RN, DrPH, FAAN2, and Bruce R. DeForge, PhD3. (1) School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA, (2) School of Nursing, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA, (3) School of Social Work, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
Learning Objective #1: Discuss the relationship between acculturation and substance use
Learning Objective #2: Understand the impact that acculturation has on the health of Latino women
Objective: This study investigated the relationship between acculturation and substance use among Mexican women. Latinos in the US are disproportionately affected by the problems of substance abuse. Several studies have shown that the stress of acculturation is related to an increase in alcohol consumption and drug use. However, there is limited data specific to the impact of acculturation upon Latino women.

Design: Project SEPA (Salud, Educacion, Prevencion y Autocuidado; Health, Education, prevention and Self-Care) was a randomized control study designed to evaluate whether a culturally sensitive intervention would reduce HIV risk behaviors in Latino women. The intervention, which was facilitated by bilingual, bicultural, trained Latino women, consisted of culturally tailored sessions on understanding their bodies, HIV/AIDS and STDs, condoms (myths and use), negotiating safer sex practices, violence prevention and partner communication.

Sample: A total of 657 Mexican and Puerto-Rican women aged 18 to 44 who were sexually active during the three months prior to recruitment were interviewed. Only the baseline data for Mexican women (N-529) were analyzed for this study.

Variables: Acculturation was measured with a 24 item scale focusing on three language-related areas; language use, linguistic proficiency and electronic media. Substance abuse behavior questions were modified from Kelly's (1994) instrument format, asking women to recal their alcohol and drug use behaviors during the past three months.

Analysis: Data were analyzed using Pearson's product-moment correlations and multiple regression.

Findings: The results indicated that women, who had a higher level of acculturation, were more likely to get high on drugs and alcohol. Moreover, the relationship between acculturation and drug use was more powerful than alcohol use.

Conclusions: Women who were more accultruated to the host culture were more likely to use alcohol and drugs.

Implications: The results of this study will help to inform interventions addressing substance abuse for Mexican women.

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