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CORK Bibliography: Mexican-Americans

61 citations. January 2003 to present

Prepared: March 2009

Alvarez J; Olson BD; Jason LA; Davis MI; Ferrari JR. Heterogeneity among Latinas and Latinos entering substance abuse treatment: Findings from a national database. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 26(4): 277-284, 2004. (59 refs.)

The current study examined differences in 30-day and lifetime substance use for a sample of Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and Cuban American men and women from the Drug Evaluation Network System, a national database on individuals seeking substance abuse treatment. There were significant gender and ethnic differences in recent and lifetime substance use after controlling for age, years of education, employment, medical, and psychological problems. Lifetime and 30-day substance use rates found in this study do not coincide with prevalence rates found in community samples of Latinas/os, indicating that the patterns of substance use may be different among individuals who seek substance abuse treatment than among those in the general population. The results of this study highlight the heterogeneity of Latinas/os who abuse substances.

Barnett NP; Monti PM; Cherpitel C; Bendtsen P; Borges G; Colby SM et al. Identification and brief treatment of alcohol problems with medical patients: An international perspective. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 27(2): 262-270, 2003. (51 refs.)

This article summarizes the proceedings of a symposium at the 2002 RSA meeting in San Francisco, California. The chair was Peter Monti and co-chair was Nancy Barnett. The aim of the symposium was to bring together researchers from the United States, Sweden, and Mexico to present current findings on the development and implementation of screening and intervention research in Emergency Departments (ED). Cheryl Cherpitel presented findings on the performance of the Rapid Alcohol Problems Screen (RAPS4), a 4-item instrument used for screening for alcohol dependence and harmful drinking in the ED. Dr. Cherpitel also presented for her collaborator, Guilherme Borges, their research on the performance of a number of screening measures including the RAPS among Mexicans and Mexican-Americans with alcohol-related disorders in the ED. Preben Bendtsen described the implementation of an alcohol screening and intervention procedure delivered by ordinary ED staff in Sweden. Nancy Barnett presented data on characteristics related to readiness to change alcohol use in a sample of young adults who Were treated in an ED for injury or intoxication.

Barrera M; Hageman DN; Gonzales NA. Revisiting Hispanic adolescents' resilience to the effects of parental problem drinking and life stress. American Journal of Community Psychology 34(1/2): 83-94, 2004. (40 refs.)

Two previous studies found that life stress and parental alcoholism were not as highly related to distress for Hispanic adolescents as they were for European American adolescents (M. Barrera Jr., S.A. Li, and L. Chassin, 1993, 1995). Those findings could be interpreted as evidence of Hispanic youths' resilience, but limitations of the stress measure and the homogeneity of the Hispanic sample threatened this interpretation. The present study improved on those previous studies by using a new measure of uncontrollable stressors and a more heterogeneous Mexican American sample. Participants in this study were 175 Mexican American and 59 European American adolescents and their parents. Unlike the previous studies, results did not show that Mexican American adolescents were more resilient to parental problem drinking or life stress than were European American adolescents. Overall, life stress was related to adolescents', mothers', and fathers' reports of adolescents' psychological distress above and beyond the effects of ethnicity and socioeconomic factors.

Benowitz NL; Bernert JT; Caraballo RS; Holiday DB; Wang JT. Optimal serum cotinine levels for distinguishing cigarette smokers and nonsmokers within different racial/ethnic groups in the United States between 1999 and 2004. American Journal of Epidemiology 169(2): 236-248, 2009. (19 refs.)

Cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine, is widely used to distinguish smokers from nonsmokers in epidemiologic studies and smoking-cessation clinical trials. As the magnitude of secondhand smoke exposure declines because of proportionally fewer smokers and more clean-indoor-air regulations, the optimal cotinine cutpoint with which to distinguish smokers from nonsmokers is expected to change. The authors analyzed data on 3,078 smokers and 13,078 nonsmokers from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 1999-2004. Optimal serum cotinine concentrations for discriminating smokers from nonsmokers were determined using receiver operator characteristic curve analysis. Optimal cotinine cutpoints were 3.08 ng/mL (sensitivity = 96.3%, specificity = 97.4%) and 2.99 ng/mL (sensitivity = 86.5%, specificity = 93.1%) for adults and adolescents, respectively. Among adults, optimal cutpoints differed by race/ethnicity: They were 5.92 ng/mL, 4.85 ng/mL, and 0.84 ng/mL for non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic whites, and Mexican Americans, respectively. Among adolescents, cutpoints were 2.77 ng/mL, 2.95 ng/mL, and 1.18 ng/mL for non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic whites, and Mexican Americans, respectively. Use of the currently accepted cutpoint of 14 ng/mL overestimates the number of nonsmokers in comparison with the proposed new overall cutpoint of 3 ng/mL or the race/ethnicity-specific cutpoints of 1-6 ng/mL.

Blume AW; Orona JA; Perez S; Villanueva MR. Alcohol expectancies significantly predicted consequences at three month follow-up among Mexican-American college students. (meeting abstract). Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 28(5 Supplement): 101A-101A, 2004. (2 refs.)

Borges G; Medina-Mora ME; Lown A; Ye Y; Robertson MJ; Cherpitel C et al. Alcohol use disorders in national samples of Mexcicans and Mexican-Americans: The Mexican National Addiction Survey and the US National Alcohol Survey. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 28(3): 425-449, 2006. (33 refs.)

The authors show associations between immigration and alcohol disorders using data from the 1995 and 2000 U.S. National Alcohol Surveys and the 1998 Mexico National Household Survey on Addictions. The prevalence of alcohol dependence was 4.8% for the Mexicans, 4.2% for the Mexico-born immigrants, and 6.6% for the U.S.-born Mexican Americans. They found a general lack of significance for the immigration variables with few consistent dose-response findings for alcohol use disorders. High acculturation was associated with higher risks for women; however, unexpectedly, high acculturation was associated with lower risks for males. Among Mexican Americans, the impact of immigration to the United States on the prevalence of alcohol use disorders differs by gender. Male and female differences and possible sources of immigrant selection are important issues for future research.

Bray JH; Adams GJ; Getz JG; McQueen A. Individuation, peers, and adolescent alcohol use: A latent growth analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 71(3): 553-564, 2003. (81 refs.)

The study used latent growth modeling to investigate longitudinal relationships between individuation, peer alcohol use, and adolescent alcohol use among African American, Mexican American, and non-Hispanic White adolescents (N = 6,048) from 7th, 8th, and 9th grades over a 3-year period. Initial levels of peer alcohol use were significantly related to changes in adolescents' alcohol use, whereas initial adolescent alcohol use also significantly related to changes in peers' alcohol use, suggesting a bidirectional relationship. Higher levels of intergenerational individuation were related to smaller increases in adolescent alcohol use and higher levels of separation were related to larger increases in youth drinking. The findings were similar across ethnic groups. Implications for development of prevention and intervention programs are discussed.

Caetano RM. The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): Rates and predictors of alcohol abuse and dependence across Hispanic national groups. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 69(4): 441-448, 2008. (35 refs.)

Objective: The primary purpose of this article is to report 12-month prevalence rates and predictors of alcohol abuse and dependence among Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, Puerto Ricans, and South/Central Americans living in the United States. Method: Using a multistage cluster sample design, a total of 5,224 individuals 18 years of age and older were selected from the household population in five metropolitan areas of the United States: Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles. The survey weighted response rate was 76%. Personal interviews lasting an average of 1 hour were conducted in respondents' homes either in English or Spanish. Results: There is considerable heterogeneity in rates of abuse and dependence across these national groups, with Mexican American and Puerto Rican men having higher rates than Cuban American and South/Central American men. The rates of dependence for Mexican American and Puerto Rican men are also higher than those for men in the U.S. general population. Further, although the highest rates of abuse and dependence are among those in their 20s, the rate decline with age is not as strong as in the U.S. population. Thus, Hispanics at older ages (40-49, 50-59) are at considerably more risk of dependence and its health consequences than the U.S. general population. This is particularly true of Puerto Rican and Mexican American men. Conclusions: Future analysis must take this heterogeneity into consideration by conducting national group-specific analysis. Prevention efforts must also be guided by these findings, which suggest that Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans are at higher risk for abuse, dependence, and the associated consequences than the other two groups of U.S. Hispanics.

Cepeda A; Valdez A. Risk behaviors among young Mexican American gang-associated females: Sexual relations, partying, substance use, and crime. Journal of Adolescent Research 18(1): 90-106, 2003. (45 refs.)

This research focuses on young, Mexican American girls who are not formal gang members yet participate in street-based activities of male gangs and engage in risk, behaviors. These females comprise a larger proportion associated with male gangs in inner-city neighborhoods than actual female gang members. Using a qualitative design, the article presents a typology of Mexican American females that reveals a hierarchy based on exposure to four risk-related activities: sexual relations, partying, substance use, and crime. Findings illustrate how outcomes associated with these activities vary according to the girl's relationship to the male gang and status within the community. Also, regardless of their relationship to the, gang, participation in these activities resulted in different degrees of negative outcomes. The study concludes that problems associated with these females are not properly viewed simply as individual problems but rather should be seen within the social, cultural, and economic conditions of their environment.

Chakraborty BM; Mueller WH; Reeves R; Poston WSC; Holscher DM; Quill B; Hanis CL; Foreyt JP. Migration history, health behaviors, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in overweight Mexican-American women. Ethnicity & Disease 13(1): 94-108, 2003. (48 refs.)

Purpose: This research examined whether the migration history of overweight Mexican-American women had an independent effect on cardiovascular risk factors, or whether it was mediated by health behavior changes. Data and Methods: Cross-sectional data from 390 overweight, non-diabetic Mexican-American women (aged 18 to 65 years), all recruited from Starr County, Texas, were used for this analysis. Migration history was inferred from birthplaces of subjects and relatives, and length of residence in the United States. Health behaviors included tobacco and alcohol use, sleeping, exercise, and dietary practices. The cardiovascular disease risk factor variables (CDRFVs) studied were plasma glucose, abdominal obesity, blood pressures, and blood lipids. A migration history score (MHS) was developed from factor analysis, almost equally contributed to by the 9 migration history variables. Healthy habits were defined by 6 variables, and 3 factors (blood pressures, lipids/glucose, and body fat/glucose) were used for the CDRFVs. Findings and Conclusion: MHS was correlated positively with socioeconomic status, and negatively with family stress. Older women had healthier drinking and sleeping habits. Women with a higher migration history score exhibited poorer exercise habits, and increased blood pressures. After adjusting for the effect of healthy exercise habits on blood pressures, the impact of migration history on blood pressures became non-significant (P>.05), leading to the conclusion that healthy exercise behaviors mediated the negative relationship of MHS with blood pressures. Age was independently positively correlated with all CDRFVs. Age also weakly moderated the negative relationship of MHS and healthy exercise habits.

Chalela P; Velez LF; Ramirez AG. Social influences, and attitudes and beliefs associated with smoking among border Latino youth. Journal of School Health 77(4): 187-195, 2007. (45 refs.)

BACKGROUND: Adolescent smoking rates have declined among all ethnic groups since the late 1990s. However, despite the recent declines and intervention efforts, today smoking remains a serious problem among youth, with a quarter of adolescents being current smokers by the time they complete 12th grade. This problem is particularly prevalent among Latino youth, who have among the highest rates of lifetime and past-30-day use. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between psychosocial factors and the smoking behavior of Latino youth living along the Mexico-US border. METHODS: A convenient sample of 2471 middle and high school Latino students was surveyed in fall 2000. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between study risk factors and youth smoking behavior. RESULTS: The strongest predictor of lifetime and past-30-day smoking was peer influence; however, the strength of the association was greater with recent use. There were also differences in the influence of family and attitudes and beliefs between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: These differences need to be taken into consideration to guide development of tailored prevention and control interventions aimed at this specific group. These efforts should address social influences to smoke, particularly those from peers; promote changes in attitudes and beliefs toward smoking; increase understanding of the addictive nature of nicotine; and provide development of skills young people need to resist social and environmental pressures to smoke. Strict control and enforcement measures are needed to completely eliminate the sale of cigarettes to minors.

Cherpitel CJ; Bond J. DUI recidivism: A comparison of Mexican Americans and whites in a northern California county. (rapid communication). Addictive Behaviors 28(5): 963-969, 2003. (13 refs.)

Objective: While Hispanic offenders for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) in California are more likely to have a history of multiple offenses compared to whites, little is known about characteristics associated with DUI recidivism in either ethnic group. Demographic and DUI conviction characteristics associated with DUI recidivism are analyzed among Mexican American and white DUI offenders in a Northern California county. Method: A sample of 459 primarily Mexican Americans and 490 whites were randomly selected from records supplied by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on over 16,000 DUI offenders in the county during a 3-year period. DMV data on DUI convictions in the 1- and 5-year period preceding the identifying DUI offense and the year following the identifying offense (the recidivism conviction) were analyzed. Results: Rates of recidivism were significantly lower for Mexican Americans (5%) compared to whites (11%) who were arrested for DUI but not convicted, but higher for those convicted (12% vs. 5%). While conviction status of the identifying DUI offense was not predictive of recidivism among Mexican Americans, a DUI conviction in the preceding year was significantly predictive. Among white arrestees, receiving a conviction was significantly, and negatively, predictive of recidivism, but among those who were convicted, a previous DUI conviction in the last year was predictive of recidivism. Referral to a DUI treatment program was not a significant predictor of recidivism among those convicted in either ethnic group. Conclusions: The data suggest that conviction for a DUI may not play the same role in the likelihood of subsequent DUI convictions for Mexican Americans as for whites, and this difference may need to be considered in DUI treatment programs. Additional research on ethnic differences in DUI offenses and recidivism over longer periods of follow-up is needed to determine ethnic-specific intervention and prevention strategies for DUI.

Cherpitel CJ; Robertson M; Ye Y; Borges G; Bautista CF; Lown A et al. Comorbidity for alcohol use disorders and drug use in Mexican-origin groups: Comparison of data from national alcohol surveys in the U.S. and Mexico. Substance Use & Misuse 42(11): 1685-1703, 2007. (53 refs.)

The comorbidity, separately, of alcohol dependence and consequences of drinking with illicit drug use is compared between Mexicans and Mexicans Americans, using data from the 1995 and 2000 U. S. National Alcohol Surveys (n = 830) and the 1998 Mexico National Household Survey on Addictions (n = 3313). Among drinkers, comorbidity was significantly more prevalent among Mexican Americans than among Mexicans and was positively associated with level of acculturation among Mexican Americans. Although data may not be generalizable, they are important for a better understanding of cultural influences on the development of comorbid substance abuse conditions among Mexicans immigrating to the United States and their substance abuse treatment needs.

Delva J; Wallace JM; O'Malley PM; Bachman JG; Johnston LD; Schulenberg JE. The epidemiology of alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine use among Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban American, and other Latin American eighth-grade students in the United States: 1991-2002. American Journal of Public Health 95(4): 696-702, 2005. (37 refs.)

Objectives. We compared trends in and correlates of marijuana use, cocaine use, and heavy alcohol use for adolescents of Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and other Latin American heritage in the United States. Methods. We used/examined data from nationally representative samples of eighth-grade Hispanic students who participated in the Monitoring the Future study during the years 1991-2002 (n=24235). Results. Drug use was significantly higher among boys and adolescents of almost all Hispanic ethnicities who did not live with both parents. In addition, drug use differed considerably according to ethnic group on language first spoken, parental education, urbanicity, and region. Conclusions. A better understanding of the homogeneity and heterogeneity of drug use patterns within and between Hispanic groups should assist in the development of prevention programs.

Elek E; Miller-Day M; Hecht ML. Influences of personal, injunctive, and descriptive norms on early adolescent substance use. Journal of Drug Issues 36(1): 147-171, 2006. (67 refs.)

Social norms play an important role in adolescent substance use. Norm focus theory (Cialdini, Reno, & Kallgren, 1990) distinguishes three types of norms: injunctive, descriptive, and personal. This study examines the relative influences of these three norms, as well as the moderating effects of gender and ethnicity, on the concurrent substance use of 2,245 Mexican or Mexican-American students, 676 students of other Latino or multiethnic Latino origin, 756 non-Hispanic White students, and 353 African-American students. Personal norms appear to be the strongest significant predictor of substance use. Descriptive, parental injunctive, and friend injunctive norms also demonstrate significant, though weaker influences. Controlling for intentions reduces the predictive ability of each type of norm, especially personal norms. Gender moderates the relationship between norms and substance use with the relationships generally stronger for males. Personal norms act as stronger predictors of some types of substance use for Mexican/Mexican Americans.

Fisher DG; Reynolds GL; Moreno-Branson CM; Jaffe A; Wood MM; Klahn JA et al. Drug treatment needs of Hispanic drug users in Long Beach, California. Journal of Drug Issues 34(4): 879-894, 2004. (49 refs.)

The objective of this study is to investigate differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic drug users in Long Beach, CA, with respect to drug use, HIV risk behaviors, and drug treatment experience and to explore the dissimilarities between Hispanic drug users who identify their family origin as Mexican American compared to those who identify their family origin as Mexican. We recruited 1, 728 drug users into an HIV risk reduction intervention; of these, 404 were Hispanic. The Risk Behavior Assessment (RBA) was used to collect information on demographics, drug and sex risk behaviors, and drug treatment experience. Hispanic drug users are significantly more likely to inject drugs than non-Hispanic drug users and were found to have a higher mean number of injections in the last 30 days. Hispanic drug users were more likely to have taken part in drug treatment programs, specifically methadone detoxification and maintenance programs. Self-identified Mexican drug users were less likely to have ever attended a drug treatment program than were Mexican-American drug users. Greater availability of drug treatment programs for monolingual and bilingual Hispanic injectors is needed.

Grant BF; Stinson FS; Dawson DA; Chou PS. Acculturation and lifetime prevalence of DSM-VI psychiatric disorders among Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic Whites in the US: Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey an Alcohol and Related Conditions. (meeting abstract). Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 28(5 Supplement): 198A-198A, 2004. (0 refs.)

Guilamo-Ramos V; Jaccard J; Johansson M; Turrisi R. Binge drinking among Latino youth: Role of acculturation-related variables. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 18(2): 135-142, 2004. (33 refs.)

This research examined the relationship between acculturation-related variables and binge drinking behavior among nationally representative samples of Mexican American, Cuban American, and Puerto Rican youth. It explored the relationship between length of residence in the United States, type of language spoken in the home (Spanish vs. English) and binge drinking in each of these subgroups. Results suggest that Latino youths with no prior history of alcohol consumption remain largely unaffected by these acculturation-related variables. Youth with a previous history of alcohol consumption experience greater likelihood of binge drinking as a function of the acculturation-related variables, but the relationships are complex.

Gutierres SE; Barr A. The relationship between attitudes toward pregnancy and contraception use among drug users. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 24(1): 19-29, 2003. (80 refs.)

Use of alcohol and drugs during pregnancy is regarded as a serious problem in the medical field. The current study explored gender and ethnic differences in attitudes and behaviors related to sexuality and contraceptive use among European American, Mexican American and Native American female and male clients in drug recovery programs. The study also examined the relationship between sexual abuse, concern for pregnancy, concern for contracting sexually transmitted diseases and contraception use among women drug users. Results showed gender and ethnic differences in attitudes toward pregnancy, abortion and contraceptive use. In addition, both Mexican American and Native American women who had a high concern for pregnancy were more likely to use birth control when they reported sexual abuse than when they reported no abuse. In contrast, European American women with a high concern for pregnancy showed a tendency to use birth control less when they reported abuse than when they did not. The observed attitudinal and behavioral differences between genders and ethnic groups are discussed in relation to design of treatment program components to increase contraceptive use and decrease unwanted pregnancies among drug users.

Hecht ML; Graham JW; Elek E. The Drug Resistance Strategies intervention: Program effects on substance use. Health Education 20(3): 267-276, 2006. (43 refs.)

This study evaluates the Drug Resistance Strategies (DRS) project, a culturally grounded, communication-based, substance use prevention program implemented in 35 middle schools in Phoenix, Arizona. The intervention consisted of 10 lessons taught by the classroom teacher that imparted the knowledge, motivation, and skills needed to resist drug offers. The evaluation used growth modeling to analyze significant differences in average postintervention substance use (alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana) and growth of use over the course of the study. The study involved 6,298 seventh graders (65% Mexican/Mexican American) who responded to at least 1 of 4 questionnaires (1 pretest and 3 follow-up measures). When compared to a control group, the DRS intervention appeared to significantly limit the increase in the number of students reporting recent substance use, especially alcohol and marijuana use. The multicultural version of the curriculum proved most broadly effective, followed by the version targeting Mexican American youth. The development of a culturally grounded prevention curriculum for Mexican American youth expands the population being served by interventions. Moreover, the success of the multicultural curriculum version, which has the broadest application, provides particular promise, and the article demonstrates how a growth modeling approach can be used to evaluate a communication-based intervention by analyzing changes over time rather than differences between the pretest and posttest scores.

Hecht ML; Graham JW; Elek E. The Drug Resistance Strategies intervention: Program effects on substance use. Health Education 20(3): 267-276, 2006. (43 refs.)

2006, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Hecht ML; Warren JR; Wagstaff DA; Elek E. Substance use, resistance skills, decision making, and refusal efficacy among Mexican and Mexican American preadolescents. Health Communication 23(4): 349-357, 2008. (52 refs.)

This article examines the relationships among resistance skills, refusal efficacy, decision-making skills, and substance use for a sample of Mexican and Mexican American 5th grade students who were attending public schools in Phoenix, Arizona. An analysis of self-report questionnaire data indicated that the likelihood that male students reported ever having used one or more substances increased as they reported a greater willingness to use passive decision-making (e.g., going along) and decreased as they reported greater refusal efficacy and a greater willingness to utilize active decision making (e.g., thoughtful processing). No significant relationships emerged between the 4 predictors and lifetime substance use among the girls. These findings support the role of social skills in substance use prevention, shed light on an understudied group, and suggest the importance of continuing to examine gender differences in skills-based interventions.

Hernandez DV; Skewes MC; Resor MR; Villanueva MR; Hanson BS; Blume AW. A pilot test of an alcohol skills training programme for Mexican-American college students. International Journal of Drug Policy 17(4, Special Issue): 320-328, 2006. (50 refs.)

The alcohol skills training program for college students (ASTP) is an empirically supported intervention to reduce the harmful consequences of drinking behaviour among college students in the United States (US). However, ASTP had not been previously tested among college student samples in other cultures. In addition, very little is known about how to intervene upon risky alcohol use among Mexican-American college students, although this population is at high risk for alcohol abuse. In this study, the ASTP was revised to meet the cultural and language needs of bilingual Mexican-American college students. Mexican-American undergraduates (N=109) attending a predominantly Latino university located along the US-Mexico border were randomly assigned to one of two intervention groups (manual-only and full ASTP). Participants were assessed at three time points (baseline, 3-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up) to determine drinking patterns and alcohol-related consequences. Study results found that Mexican-American college students in both conditions consumed less alcohol and experienced fewer alcohol-related consequences after the intervention. The culturally relevant ASTP may be a promising harm reduction programme for Mexican-American college students, and ASTP strategies appear to be transportable into other cultures.

Holleran LK; Jung S. Acculturative stress, violence, and resilience in the lives of Mexican-American youth. IN: Bride BE; MacMaster SA, eds. Stress, Trauma and Substance Use. New York: Routledge, 2006. (59 refs.)

This article explores how Mexican-American youth experience stress and trauma in a variety of arenas. Such youth utilize their energy, creativity, and resilience in order to cope with cultural tensions that arise from acculturative processes, role conflicts with family and peers, school challenges, and identity formation processes. Violence, in the form of internalized colonialism, external oppression, and actual violent acts (e.g., gang fights, suicides, and physical and/or sexual abuse), can be a major risk factor for negative outcomes such as substance abuse. However, this ethnographic study demonstrates that many Mexican-American adolescents navigate stressors and traumas in such a way that transforms the potentially distressing events into life-affirming rites of passage. This article explores these issues through qualitative data analyses from a study of Mexican-American youth in a Southwestern city.

Konishi T; Calvillo M; Leng AS; Feng J; Lee T; Lee H et al. ADH32 and CYP2E1 c2 alleles increase the risk of alcoholism in Mexican American men. Experimental and Molecular Pathology* 74(2): 183-189, 2003. (44 refs.)

The goal of this study was to identify the association between the polymorphisms of genes encoding alcohol metabolizing enzymes and alcoholism. In the present study, alcohol dehydrogenase 2 (ADH2), alcohol dehydrogenase 3 (ADH3), aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), and cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) genes were studied. The research sample included 101 male Mexican American alcoholics and 104 male Mexican American nonalcoholics that served as controls. The following results of the study were seen: (1) low frequency in Mexican Americans of the alleles ADH2*2 (4.3%) and ALDH2*2 (0%), which are considered protective against alcohol drinking; (2) no association between these alleles and alcohol dependence; (3) a strong association between ADH3 genotype and alcoholism; (4) an association between the CYP2E1 RsaI c2 allele and alcohol dependence; (5) much higher CYP2E1 c2 allele frequency in subjects whose alcohol drinking onset age is younger than 25; (6) among the 101 alcoholics, only 18 subjects carrying neither ADH3*2 nor CYP2E1 c2 alleles; and (7) for those subjects who have an ADH*1/*1 background, a strong association between CYP2E1 RsaI/DraI genotype and alcoholism. It is suggested that taken together, the ADH3*2 and CYP2E1 c2/C alleles may independently contribute to the development of alcoholism in Mexican American men.

Konishi T; Calvillo M; Leng AS; Lin KM; Wan YJY. Polymorphisms of the dopamine D-2 receptor, serotonin transporter, and GABA(A) receptor beta(3) subunit genes and alcoholism in Mexican-Americans. Alcohol 32(1): 45-52, 2004. (70 refs.)

The etiology of alcohol dependence is a complex interaction of psychosocial and biologic factors. To study the impact of genetic factors that play an important role in an individual's vulnerability to alcohol abuse and dependence, we examined the genetic variations of the major neurotransmitter genes, including the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) TaqI A, B, and -141C insertion/deletion (Ins/Del) polymorphisms, the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR), and the gamma-aminobutyric acid A (GABA(A)) receptor beta(3) subunit gene (GABRbeta3), for 130 Mexican-American alcoholic men and 251 nonalcoholic control subjects (105 men and 146 women). The genotype frequency for the DRD2 -141C Ins/Del allele was significantly different between alcoholic and control subjects (P = .007). The frequency of the 5-HTTLPR short (S) allele was significantly higher in alcoholic individuals (61.5%) than in nonalcoholic control subjects (52.8%; P = .021). When smokers were excluded from both control and alcoholic groups, the association between the DRD2 -141C Ins allele, as well as between the 5-HTTLPR S allele, and alcoholism became significant at both genotypic and allelic levels. No positive association was found between alcoholism and the DRD2 TaqI A or B, or the GABRbeta3, genotype. Our findings indicate that the DRD2 -141C Ins allele and the 5-HTTLPR S allele are genetic risk factors for alcoholism in Mexican-Americans, and that smoking modulates the association between genetic risk factors and alcoholism.

Konishi T; Luo HR; Calvillo M; Mayo MS; Lin KM; Wan YJY. ADH1B1, ADH1C2, DRD2 (-141C Ins), and 5-HTTLPR are associated with alcoholism in Mexican American men living in Los Angeles. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 28(8): 1145-1152, 2004. (64 refs.)

Background: The aim of the present study was to use a candidate gene approach to identify the genetic risk factors for alcoholism in Mexican Americans residing in the Los Angeles area. The genes selected include alcohol metabolizing genes and neurotransmitter genes, which have been shown in the literature to be associated with alcoholism in other ethnic groups. Methods: Thirteen allelic variants from seven genes were evaluated for their role in alcoholism using alcoholic (n = 200) and nonalcoholic (n = 251) Mexican Americans. Those polymorphic sites include alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH1B, ADH1C), aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2), cytochrome P-450 2E1 (CYP2E1) TaqI, DraI, RsaI, dopamine D-2 receptor (DRD2) TaqI A, B, intron 6, exon 7, -141C Ins/Del, serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR), and GABA(A) receptor beta3 subunit (GABRbeta3). Results: The results demonstrate that Mexican Americans have extremely low allele frequency for both ALDH2*2 and ADH1B*2 and a relatively high frequency of ADH1C*2 and CyP2E1 c2 alleles. ADH1B*1, ADH1C*2, DRD2 (-141C Ins), and 5-HTTLPR were associated with alcoholism in Mexican Americans (p < 0.05). DRD2 Ins was associated with alcoholism in those alcoholics who carried the ADH1B*2 or ADH1C*1 protective alleles (p = 0.032 in genotype level and p = 0.015 in allele level). DRD2 TaqI A and B alleles were associated with early age of onset for drinking (p = 0.016 for TaqI A1 and p = 0.049 for TaqI B1 allele). Conclusions: Together, the data reveal unique genetic patterns in Mexican Americans that may be in part responsible for the heightened risk for alcoholism and alcohol-associated health problems in this population.

Kulis S; Marsiglia FF; Hurdle D. Gender identity, ethnicity, acculturation, and drug use: Exploring differences among adolescents in the Southwest. Journal of Community Psychology 31(2): 167-188, 2003. (52 refs.)

This article presents the findings of a survey completed by 1351 predominantly Mexican American middle school students residing in a large urban center in the U.S. Southwest. The study explores possible associations between drug use attitudes and behaviors and gender (biological sex), gender identity, ethnicity, and acculturation status. Based on the concepts of "machismo" and "marianismo" that have been used to describe Mexican populations, four dimensions of gender identity were measured: aggressive masculinity, assertive masculinity, affective femininity, and submissive femininity. In explaining a variety of indicators of drug use behaviors and anti-drug norms, gender alone had limited explanatory power, while gender identity-often regardless of gender - was, a better predictor. Aggressive masculinity was generally associated with higher risk of drug use, while the other three gender identity measures had selected protective effects. However, the impact of gender identity was strongly mediated by acculturation. Less acculturated Mexican American students reported lower aggressive masculinity scores than non-Latinos. Less acculturated Mexican American girls reported both the lowest aggressive masculinity scores and the highest submissive femininity scores. More acculturated Mexican American students, along with the less acculturated Mexican American boys, did not appear to be following a polarized approach to gender identity (machismo and marianismo) as was expected. The findings suggest that some aspects of culturally prescribed gender roles can have a protective effect against drug use behaviors and attitudes, possibly for both girls and boys.

Lee JH; Ku JG; Kim K; Yang BH; Kim SH; Wiederhold BK et al. Experimental application of virtual reality for nicotine craving through cue exposure. Cyberpsychology & Behavior 6(3): 275-280, 2003. (10 refs.)

Research has shown that many smokers experience an increase in the desire to smoke when exposed to smoking-related cues. Cue exposure treatment (CET) refers to the manualized, repeated exposure to smoking-related cues, aimed at the reducing cue reactivity by extinction. In this study, we constructed a virtual reality system for evoking a desire of nicotine, which was based on the results of a Questionnaire of Nicotine-craving. And we investigated the effectiveness of the virtual reality system as compared to classical device (pictures). As a result, we reached the conclusion that virtual reality elicits more craving symptoms than the classical devices.

Leng A-S; Calvillo M; Konishi T; Guzman GD; Pineda E; Lin K-M. Characteristics and drinking patterns in alcohol abusing Mexican American men. Addictive Disorders and Their Treatment 3(1): 14-17, 2004. (13 refs.)

ntroduction: Alcoholism has become a prominent problem among Mexican Americans, but few studies have examined it using a structured diagnostic instrument. This study describes the demographics and drinking patterns of a heavy drinking group of Mexican American men by using the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism II (SSAGA-II). Methodology: Six hundred thirty subjects were screened. After screening, 201 male Mexican Americans with heavy alcohol consumption histories (more than 6 drinks per day for more than 5 years) were assessed. Subjects' demographic variables were collected and a portion of SSAGA-II was used to establish alcohol dependence criteria and drinking patterns. Results: The prevalence rate for DSM-IV alcohol dependence among the 201 heavy drinking male Mexican Americans was 91.5% (n = 184). Demographic characteristics showed that the average age of subjects was 39, with a majority of them being single, unemployed, born in Mexico, and having less than 12 years of education. They started drinking at a young age and reported being drunk early in the course. More than half drank only beer, and one third drank more than 12 drinks per day on average. The inability to control drinking and the physiological symptoms associated with alcohol consumption were clusters of dependence criteria most likely to be endorsed by our subjects. Discussion: We studied a cohort of heavy drinking Mexican American men and described their drinking patterns as well as their demographics. Our study was the first to use a structured instrument on Mexican Americans. Although our findings are not generalizable to all Mexican Americans, they provide us needed information in this area.

Losoya SH; Knight GP; Chassin L; Little M; Vargas-Chanes D; Mauricio A et al. Trajectories of acculturation and enculturation in relation to heavy episodic drinking and marijuana use in a sample of Mexican American serious juvenile offenders. Journal of Drug Issues 38(1): 171-198, 2008. (73 refs.)

This study examines the longitudinal relations of multiple dimensions of acculturation and enculturation to heavy episodic drinking and marijuana use in a sample of 300 male, Mexican-American, serious juvenile offenders. We track trajectories between ages 15 and 20 and also consider the effects of participants' time spent residing in supervised settings during these years. Results showed some (although not entirely consistent) support for the hypothesis that bicultural adaptation is most functional in terms of lowered substance use involvement. The current findings demonstrate the importance of examining these relations longitudinally and among multiple dimensions of acculturation and enculturation, and they call into question simple models that suggest that greater acculturation is associated with greater substance use among Mexican-American adolescents.

Luo HR; Hou F; Wu J; Zhang YP; Wan YJY. Evolution of the DRD2 gene haplotype and its association with alcoholism in Mexican Americans. Alcohol 36(2): 117-125, 2005. (48 refs.)

The human D2 dopamine receptor gene (DRD2) plays a central role in the neuromodulation of appetitive behaviors and is implicated in having a possible role in susceptibility to alcoholism. We genotyped an SNP in DRD2 Exon 8 in 251 nonalcoholic, unrelated, healthy controls and 200 alcoholic Mexican Americans. The DRD2 haplotypes were analyzed using the Exon 8 genotype in combination with five other SNP genotypes, which were obtained from our previous study. The ancestral origins of the DRD2 polymorphisms have been determined by sequencing the homologous region in other higher primates. Twenty DRD2 haplotypes, defined as H1 to H20 based on their frequency from high to low, were obtained in this major minority population. The ancestral haplotype �I-B2-G-C-G-A1� and two one-step mutation haplotypes were absent in our study population. The haplotype H1, �I-B1-T-C-A-A1�, with the highest frequency in the population, is a three-step mutation from the ancestral form. The first five or eight major haplotypes make up 87% or 95% of the entire population, respectively. The prevalence of the haplotype H1+ (H1/H1 and H1/Hn genotypes) is significantly higher in alcoholics and alcoholic subgroups, including early onset drinkers and benders, than in their respective control groups. The Promoter ?141C allele is in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with five other loci in the nonalcoholic group, but not in the alcoholic group. All of the other five loci are in LD in both the alcoholic and control groups. The DRD2 TaqI B allele is in complete LD with the allele located in intron 6. Five SNPs, Promoter ?141C, TaqI B (or Intron 6), Exon 7, Exon 8, and TaqI A, are sufficient to define the DRD2 haplotypes in Mexican Americans. Our data indicate that the DRD2 haplotypes are associated with alcoholism in Mexican Americans.

Luo H-R; Konishi T; Tsuang J; Wan Y-JY. Comparison of alcohol drinking behaviors and associated problems between benders and nonbenders in Mexican Americans who drink excessively. Addictive Disorders and their Treatment 5(3): 121-127, 2006. (19 refs.)

OBJECTIVE: Bender drinking (defined as 2 or more days of sustained drinking) is common among Hispanic/Mexican Americans. However, no data are available on whether there are significant differences in alcohol-related behavioral and medical problems between benders and nonbenders, when both groups are heavy drinkers. To bridge this research gap, we investigated drinking behavior and alcohol-associated problems in Mexican American alcoholics using the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA-II). METHODS: Participants included 201 heavy drinking (?6 drinks/d) Mexican American men with 75.6% of them meeting criteria for bender drinking. Drinking behaviors, demographics, and alcohol-related problems were characterized in the 201 alcoholics, and then these variables were compared between benders and nonbenders. RESULTS: Demographically, benders were more likely to be single than nonbenders (P=0.001) but there were no other differences between the 2 groups. Regarding drinking patterns, benders exhibited distinct [P<0.001, odds ratios (ORs)=3.65 to 10.20] drinking behaviors to that of nonbenders, including thinking of drinking where it was prohibited, drinking regularly before age 20, and drinking nonbeverage alcohol such as mouthwash. Moreover, benders exhibited significantly (P<0.001, ORs=3.63 to 6.42) more drinking-related negative behaviors compared to nonbenders, such as forfeiting important things, putting oneself in dangerous situations, becoming less responsible, exhibiting problems at work or school, losing friendships, accidentally injuring oneself, hitting other people, as well as more alcohol-related medical and emotional problems (ORs=3.02 to 6.94), such as feeling depressed for longer than 24 hours, having trouble thinking for longer than 24 hours, hallucinations, and stomach disease. CONCLUSIONS: Among a group of excessive drinking Mexican American men, benders had more serious negative drinking-related behavioral and health problems than nonbenders. Thus, from a public health perspective, reducing the number of benders among heavy drinking Mexican Americans should be considered as an initial step to reduce alcohol-related problems. These data might be useful in developing strategies to reduce alcohol-related problems in Mexican Americans.

MacPherson L; Myers MG. Invariance study of an adolescent survey-based smoking-related cognitions scale: Examination across Hispanic and Caucasian groups. Preventive Medicine 39(5): 1026-1035, 2004. (63 refs.)

Background. Large-scale surveys frequently assess tobacco-related cognitions, however, few studies have examined the psychometric properties and cultural invariance of such measures. Methods. The present study examined the factor structure of a dichotomous 8-item tobacco-related beliefs scale administered as part of the state-wide California Tobacco Survey. It was expected that scale factor structure would be invariant across the non-Hispanic white (N = 1960) and English-speaking Mexican-Americans (N = 5 93), but would differ for Spanish-speaking Mexican-Americans (N = 455). Invariance was also examined across gender within each group. Results. A single factor solution was identified and confirmed within each group. Factorial invariance analyses revealed differences across the three groups as well as across gender among the Mexican-American groups. Conclusions. Findings underscore the importance of examining the psychometric properties of scales employed to assess tobacco-related cognitions across cultural and gender groups.

Marsiglia FF; Kulis S; Nieri T; Parsai M. God forbid! Substance use among religious and nonreligious youth. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 75(4): 585-598, 2005. (43 refs.)

Among a predominately Mexican and Mexican American sample of preadolescents, religiosity protected against lifetime alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use and recent alcohol and cigarette use when religious affiliation was controlled. When religiosity was controlled, however, adolescents with no religious affiliation and adolescents who were religiously affiliated reported similar substance use outcomes. Interaction effects demonstrated that the protective effect of greater religiosity operated more strongly in some religions than in others for selected outcomes. Overall, the impact of religiosity on reported drug use did not differ significantly for more and less acculturated Latino youth.

Martinez-Donate AP; Hovell F; Hofstetter CR; Gonzalez-Perez GJ; Adams MA; Kotay A. Correlates of home smoking bans among Mexican-Americans. American Journal of Health Promotion 21(4): 229-236, 2007. (35 refs.)

Purpose. This study examines the individual and environmental correlates of home smoking bans among a papulation-based sample of Mexican-Americans. Design. A telephone survey on tobacco use and home policies was conducted using stratified, random sampling of listed phone numbers. Setting. Surveys were completed by telephone in San Diego, California. Subjects. The sample consisted of San Diego adult residents of Mexican descent (N = 1,103). Measures. The interview included questions on home rules regarding smoking in the household and a number of potential correlates, based on the Behavioral Ecological Model (BEM). This model emphasizes the influence of family, social, and cultural factors on health behaviors. Results. Overall, 90.6% of all respondents reported a ban on smoking in the home. Multivariate analyses indicated that home bans on smoking are more likely among individuals that do not smoke, live with children, are more acculturated to U.S. society, report greater aversion to ETS, and/or report more social pressure against indoor smoking. In contrast, smoking bans are less likely among Mexican Americans who live with smokers. Conclusions. Individual and environmental factors play a protective role by increasing the likelihood of smoking bans in the home of Mexican-descent individuals. These factors should be considered for the design of interventions to sustain and promote the adoption of smoking bans in the home among this and other populations.

Martinez-Donate AP; Hovell MF; Hofstetter CR; Gonzalez-Perez GJ; Kotay A; Adams MA. Crossing borders: The impact of the California tobacco control program on both sides of the US - Mexico border. American Journal of Public Health 98(2): 258-267, 2008. (47 refs.)

We examined the association between exposure to the California Tobacco Control Program and tobacco-related behaviors and perceptions among adults of Mexican descent. Three cross-sectional population-based surveys were conducted among adults in cities that represent full, partial, and no exposure to the program: San Diego, Calif, Tijuana, Mexico, and Guadalajara, Mexico, respectively. After we controlled for socioeconomic differences, we found significantly different rates of smoking, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, and smoking bans in the 3 cities. We also observed a parallel gradient of cross-city differences in theoretical mediators of tobacco control. This suggests a significant association among the California Tobacco Control Program, tobacco-control outcomes, and theoretical mediators of these outcomes. Similar programs should be implemented in other regions; they have widespread effects on social norms and behaviors related to smoking and environmental tobacco smoke and can help achieve tobacco control across nations.

Medina C; Luna G. Suicide attempts among adolescent Mexican-American students enrolled in special education classes. Adolescence 41(162): 299-312, 2006. (41 refs.)

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among school-aged students between the ages of 15 and 19. There is an increasing frequency of suicide and other self-destructive behaviors among Mexican American youth and students in special education classrooms for emotional and behavioral disabilities. Recognizing Mexican American youth in special education classes as a separate risk group, this study (a) identifies factors that contribute to suicide, (b) reviews the signs and characteristics associated with these factors, (c) interviews Mexican American students in special education who have either exhibited various characteristics of suicidal thoughts and/or have attempted suicide, (d) explores effective prevention programs, and (e) provides suggestions for school personnel. Interviews with five adolescent Mexican American special education students support previous research findings that depression, substance abuse, social and interpersonal conflict, family distress, and school stress are primary characteristics related to suicidal minority youth.

Miller JM; Miller HV; Zapata JT; Yin ZN. Mexican-American youth drug use and acculturation: A note on the mitigating effects of contextual dynamics. Journal of Drug Issues 38(1): 199-214, 2008. (38 refs.)

This study reexamines the relationship between acculturation and illicit drug use among a sample of Mexican-American adolescents in South Texas (n=3,186). Logistic regression was used to test the relationship between marijuana and cocaine use and two acculturation scales while controlling for structural properties and social dynamics characterizing use environment. Findings suggest that acculturation correlates with increased use of both substances when operationalized by language but not when measurement is based in social interaction. Gang membership was found to be a more explanative indicator of drug use than acculturation, suggesting that Mexican-American drug use is better understood through utilization of models factoring delinquent peer effects.

Morgan-Lopez AA; Castro FG; Chassin L; MacKinnon DP. A mediated moderation model of cigarette use among Mexican American youth. (rapid communication). Addictive Behaviors 28(3): 583-589, 2003. (11 refs.)

The current study tested a model examining both the direct and mediated effects of Ethnic Cultural Norms (ECN) on cigarette use in a sample of Mexican American youth (ages 11-14; N=921). Contextual risk factors (peer smoking and family smoking) were included as potential moderators of this mediational relationship. A product of coefficient method to test the significance of the mediated effect [Evaluation Review 17 (1993) 144.] was adapted to assess the mediation of interaction effects. Results suggested that Tobacco Avoidance Self-Efficacy mediated the protective influence of ECN on cigarette use. However, as peer smoking increased, the influence of ECN on cigarette use diminished, though it remained a significant, protective influence on cigarette use. Results are discussed in terms of the potential synergy between ECN and social influence training in tobacco preventive intervention development among youth of Latin descent.

Nieri T; Kulis S; Keith VM; Hurdle D. Body image, acculturation, and substance abuse among boys and girls in the southwest. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 31(4): 617-639, 2005. (49 refs.)

This study explored body image as measured by perceptions of weight and appearance and its impact on adolescent drug use among predominately Mexican American middle school students in the southwest. Outcomes analyzed included lifetime and recent alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use and antidrug norms. Disliking one's looks was more of a risk factor for boys, whereas negative weight perceptions were more of a risk factor for girls. Relative to more acculturated ( English-dominant) Latinos (N = 903), non-Latino Whites (N = 121), and other non-Latino youth (N = 107), less acculturated (Spanish-dominant) Latino youth (N = 212) reported the poorest body image. However, more acculturated Latino youth with poor body image had the greatest risk of substance use. More acculturated Latino boys who disliked their looks reported relatively greater amounts of recent alcohol use, and those who rated their bodies as too thin reported higher lifetime cigarette use, a greater amount and frequency of recent cigarette use, and weaker antidrug norms. More acculturated Latina girls who thought they were too fat reported a greater amount and frequency of recent cigarette use. These findings suggest that low levels of acculturation may protect some Latino youth with poor body image from coping via substance use. In addition, they suggest that poor body image among some Latinos may result less from adoption of American thinness ideals but rather from attitudes and behaviors that devalue the characteristics of Latino appearance.

Osborne C; Manning WD; Smock PJ. Married and cohabiting parents' relationship stability: A focus on race and ethnicity. Journal of Marriage and the Family 69(5): 1345-1366, 2007. (69 refs.)

We draw on three waves of the Fragile Families Study (N = 2,249) to examine family stability among a recent birth cohort of children. We find that children born to cohabiting versus married parents have over five times the risk of experiencing their parents' separation. This difference in union stability is greatest for White children, as compared with Black or Mexican American children. For White children, differences in parents' education levels, paternal substance abuse, and prior marriage and children account for the higher instability faced by those born to cohabiting parents, whereas differences in union stability are not fully explained among Black and Mexican American children. These findings have implications for policies aimed at promoting family stability and reducing inequality.

Pena JM; Koss-Chioino JD; Bay C. Searching for universals: Preliminary evidence for the validity of substance abuse subtypes in a sample of Mexican American youths. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 29(2): 445-461, 2003. (18 refs.)

Recent studies of substance abuse typologies indicate that multivariate models originally developed for identifying subtypes of alcoholics are valid among users of other substances, including heroin, cocaine, and marijuana. If substance abuse typologies are universal across cultures, then controlling for subtype may prove to be an effective research strategy in studies attempting to distinguish the separate and specific contribution of culturally-related factors to risk for substance use and to treatment response. This article presents data that replicate the Type A-Type B distinction developed by Babor et al., in a sample of Hispanic youths with substance use problems. The proportions of the 131 adolescents meeting threshold diagnostic criteria for a substance use problem were alcohol, 43%; cannabis, 39%; amphetamines, 7%; cocaine, 4%; and inhalants, 2%. Cluster analysis identified two groups, Cluster 1 and Cluster 2, corresponding to Babor et al.'s Type A-Type B typology. Compared to Cluster 1 (Type A), Cluster 2 (Type B) substance users reported significantly more multiple drug use, more frequent use of tobacco, more frequent use of other drugs, as well as more psychiatric symptoms, conduct problems, and problems related to impulse control. Although significant differences were not found on measures of biological family history, age of first use, novelty seeking, and typical use of alcohol, differences in each of these areas were in the direction that the typology would predict with Cluster 2 (Type B).

Ramirez AG; Suarez L; Chalela P; Talavera GA; Marti J; Trapido EJ et al. Cancer risk factors among men of diverse Hispanic or Latino origins. Preventive Medicine 39(2): 263-269, 2004. (26 refs.)

Background. Personal health behaviors play a fundamental role in premature cancer morbidity and mortality. However, routine risk factor data on Latino groups are lacking. Knowledge of cancer risk prevalence by ethnoregional groups is particularly important for development of effective prevention and control strategies. Methods. Using the diverse populations and sites involved in the National Hispanic Leadership Initiative on Cancer (NHLIC): En Accion, this paper examines prevalence of six cancer risk factors among Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Central American adult males in eight U.S. cities. Data were collected through two telephone surveys. The 1993-1994 sample consisted of 4170 males (2041 <40 years and 2120 greater than or equal to 40 years). The 1997-1998 sample consisted of 4486 males (2286 <40 years and 2200 greater than or equal to 40 years). Results. Clear differences exist in risk factor prevalence among Latino subgroups. Overall, riskiest behaviors were found among Mexican American men in Texas, more of whom smoked, engaged in acute alcohol drinking, and had poorer diets and higher obesity levels than other Latino men. Conclusions. Root causes of these ethnoregional differences are likely due to both economic and cultural factors. Cancer prevention and control strategies and programs should be tailored to address specific needs of each population group.

Rivera-Hidalgo F; Shulman JD; Beach MM. The association of tobacco and other factors with recurrent aphthous stomatitis in an US adult population. Oral Diseases 10(6): 335-345, 2004. (69 refs.)

OBJECTIVE: To determine point and annual prevalence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). SETTING: Reported prevalence of RAS in textbooks and much of the literature varies according to study location, patient selection and whether point prevalence (presence of lesions at examination) or period prevalence (history of lesions during a specified period) is reported. Many studies are based on non-probability samples and this may contribute to significant variation in reported prevalence and factors presumed to be associated with RAS. METHODS: We analyzed data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994, a large United States probability sample, for RAS and covariates suggested in the literature using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Oral mucosal examinations were performed on 17 235 adults 17 years and older. Of these, 146 (0.89%) had at least one clinically apparent aphthous lesion. For annual (reported) prevalence, Whites (20.87%) and Mexican-Americans (12.88%) had several fold higher prevalence of RAS than Blacks (4.96%). Adults younger than 40 years of age had almost twice the prevalence (22.54%) of those older than 40 years (13.42%). CONCLUSION: Annual prevalence was significantly higher in whites and Mexican-Americans (compared with blacks), individuals 17-39 years of age, cigarette non-smokers, and those with recurrent herpes labialis history; while it was lower in males. Point prevalence was significantly higher in whites, Mexican-American, individuals 17-39 years of age, cigarette non-smokers, and males.

Russo D; Purohit V; Foudin L; Salin M. Workshop on alcohol use and health disparities 2002: A call to arms. (editorial). Alcohol 32(1): 37-43, 2004. (14 refs.)

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored a "Workshop on Alcohol Use and Health Disparities 2002: A Call to Arms," on December 5, 2002, in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. This workshop was part of the NIAAA/NIH comprehensive strategic plan to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, health disparities. Eleven topics were addressed: (1) biomedical risk factors that may contribute to disparities in the toxic effects of alcohol; (2) alcohol and gene-environment interactions that affect the health of diverse groups; (3) alcohol pharmacogenetics in Mexican-Americans; (4) determinants of risk for alcoholism in minority populations; (5) consideration of population groups in linkage-disequilibrium studies to identify genes associated with alcohol dependence: (6) interaction between alcohol dependence and African-American ethnicity in disordered sleep, nocturnal cytokines, and immunity: (7) disparities of brain functional reserve capacity affecting brain morbidity related to substance abuse; (8) alcohol and pregnancy disparities; (9) role of alcohol in cancer risk disparities; (10) ethnic diversity in alcoholic cardiomyopathy; and (11) postmenopausal health disparities. On the basis of these presentations, seven conclusions emerged: (1) Genetic variations in alcohol-metabolizing enzymes exist in various populations. (2) These enzymes play a role in the variation in health effect outcomes seen in different populations, owing to alcohol consumption. (3) Differences between and among population groups can be critically important for the design and interpretation of studies in genetics. These include differences in expression of phenotype, in locus heterogeneity, in risk alleles, and in population structure. (4) Incidence rates for fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are greater in African-Americans and Native-Americans than in Caucasians. Genetic polymorphisms, nutrition, and other factors may account for these differences. (5) The highest mortality rate for cirrhosis has been found in white Hispanic men. (6) Mexican-Americans have a low frequency of the protective alleles ADH1B*2 and ALDH2*2 and a relatively high frequency of CYP2E1 c2, which is associated with early onset alcoholism. (7) The incidence rate for cancer is greater for African-Americans than for Caucasians, and part of the higher risk may be attributed to heavier drinking.

Stewart SH; Connors GJ; Hutson A. Ethnicity and gamma-glutamyltransferase in men and women with alcohol use disorders. Alcohol and Alcoholism 42(1): 24-27, 2007. (22 refs.)

Aims: This study evaluated the associations of gender and ethnicity with GGT in a large sample of patients with DSM-IV alcohol abuse or dependence, as well as modification of alcohol's effects on GGT by gender and ethnicity. Methods: Subjects included 1691 African American, Mexican American, and non-Hispanic white individuals with DSM-IV alcohol dependence or abuse who participated in an alcoholism treatment trial. Detailed information on alcohol use was collected and GGT measured at baseline and at 3, 9, and 15 months post-baseline. Results: Changes in GGT occurring with changes in alcohol consumption were similar regardless of ethnicity. Although alcohol-associated changes were similar in these ethnic groups, African Americans had the highest average GGT at any given level of alcohol use. This ethnic pattern held for both sexes, with females having lower levels within each ethnic group. Drinking frequency had a slightly decreased association with GGT in females relative to males, but this effect was clinically unimportant. Conclusions: Gender and ethnic-specific cutoffs may be useful when screening for chronic heavy drinking, but the absolute increase in GGT occurring with relapse will be similar regardless of gender or ethnicity.

Stimpson JP; Masel MC; Rudkin L; Peek MK. Shared health behaviors among older Mexican American spouses. American Journal of Health Behavior 30(5): 495-502, 2006. (33 refs.)

Objective: To assess the association of health behaviors among husbands and wives. Methods: Cohort study of 553 Mexican American couples aged 65 years or older from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologyogic Studies of the Elderly (HEPESE). Multivariate regression analyses test the association of body mass index, smoking, and alcohol consumption among husbands and wives. Results: Body mass index is positively associated among couples. Risk of smoking or drinking was higher if the partner had ever smoked or drank alcohol. Conclusion: Health behaviors are associated among older Mexican American couples. Intervention efforts should be directed at both spouses.

Strunina L; Edwards EM; Godette DC; Heerene T. Country of origin, age of drinking onset, and drinking patterns among Mexican American young adults. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 91(2/3): 134-140, 2007. (57 refs.)

This study examines relationships between country of origin, age of drinking onset, and adverse drinking outcomes among young adult Mexican Americans in the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Logistic regression models estimate associations between age of drinking onset, age of onset in relation to age at immigration, and adverse drinking outcomes, controlling for sex, age, employment, education, marital status, and income. Adjusted analyses indicate the odds of adverse drinking outcomes decreased as age of drinking onset increased. Mexican Americans who initiated drinking in Mexico had significantly lower odds of current or lifetime harmful drinking than U.S. born but the odds were not significantly different between foreign-born Mexican Americans who initiated drinking in the U.S. and U.S. born. Irrespective of whether drinking onset was in Mexico or the U.S., foreign-born Mexican Americans had lower odds of alcohol abuse than U.S. born. However, odds of dependence were not significantly different between foreign-born and U.S.-born Mexican Americans. While findings suggest that being foreign born may be protective, further research on social and cultural factors impacting drinking onset and related outcomes among young Mexican Americans may help inform prevention efforts.

Tonin SL; Burrow-Sanchez JJ; Harrison RS; Kircher JC. The influence of attitudes, acculturation, and gender on substance use for Mexican American middle school students. Addictive Behaviors 33(7): 949-954, 2008. (7 refs.)

The present study tested if current drug use was related to acculturation (measured by language spoken at home), gender, or youth attitudes towards drugs in a large sample of 8th grade, predominantly Mexican American, Hispanic youth. The data were obtained via self-report survey from 2964 Hispanic youth in 108 schools. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to test if acculturation, gender, or youth attitudes towards drugs predicted past 30-day use of alcohol, inhalant, or marijuana use and assess school-level influences. Acculturation and gender interacted with attitudes towards drugs to predict current alcohol use. Gender interacted with attitudes towards drugs to predict current alcohol and inhalant use. Having positive attitudes towards drugs was related to increased substance use for all three drug types. Hispanic eighth grade girls had significantly higher use rates than boys for both alcohol and inhalants. Additional research is needed to better understand the influence of acculturation on substance use among Hispanic youth.

Valdez A. Mexican American youth and adult prison gangs in a changing heroin market. Journal of Drug Issues 35(4): 843-867, 2005. (49 refs.)

This article focuses on the interaction between the larger community's drug markets and youth and adult prison gangs, and the process that leads to specific adverse consequences both to the youth gangs as organizations, and to individual members. Described is the emergence of a restructured heroin market dominated by an adult prison gang. A major consequence of this was the increasing use of heroin among Mexican American gang members and their transformation from autonomous youth gangs to extensions of the adult prison gangs or their demise. Data was collected from 160 members of 26 Mexican American youth gangs and key informants in San Antonio. Findings focus on organizational rules, drug market transformations, consequences on members, and the impact of heroin on the gang's organization. Discussed is how the dominance of prison gangs is related to the increased incarceration and recidivism rates of Mexican Americans and declining economic opportunities for urban minorities.

Valdez A; Kaplan C. Conditions that increase drug market involvement: The invitational edge and the case of Mexicans in South Texas. Journal of Drug Issues 37(4): 893-918, 2007. (65 refs.)

Research on drug trafficking has not been able to discern the exact nature of illegal drug markets and the relationship between their individual and group participants. This article delineates the role of Mexican immigrants and Mexican-American participants involved in the stratified drug market of South Texas. This article synthesizes ethnographic materials drawn from two previous National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) studies in order identify the different types of drug distribution behaviors that occur within the groups, the differentiated roles of individuals, the organizational framework, and most significantly, the processes that link market participants to others outside of the drug market. This illegal behavior can be interpreted as an adaptive mechanism that is a direct response to the marginal economic status imposed by macro socio-economical background factors. As well we conclude that the specific foreground factors of the opportunities offered by the context, culture, and proximity of the U.S./Mexico border and invitational edges explain this behavior. There are both parallels and particular differences between the South Texas case and the structuring and functioning of informal legal and illegal markets that are characteristic of other economically disadvantaged communities.

Valdez A; Kaplan CD; Cepeda A. The drugs-violence nexus among Mexican-American gang members. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 38(2): 109-121, 2006. (74 refs.)

This study examines hypotheses and builds models to help clarify the causal connections between drugs and violence outcomes among Mexican-American male gang members. The study uses cross-sectional data of 160 male gang members sampled from 26 gangs in a Southwestern city. A life-history/intensive interview using closed and open-ended questions and a violence risk psychometric test (PFAV) also employed 10 scenario questions to elicit self-produced accounts of the participant's last fight. Gang member participant's ages ranged from 14 to 25 years with a mean age of 18.5 years. The study concludes that drug use interacts with an individual gang member's risk for violence to affect violent behavior outcomes. Furthermore, an important situational variable explaining violent outcomes among respondents scoring high on the violence risk measure was whether the rival was using drugs that resulted in high intoxicatiion levels. The study concludes that drugs have a modulating and mediating influence on violence that is conditioned by situational and individual level variables among members of these adolescent street gangs.

Valdez A; NeaigusA; Cepeda A. Potential risk factors for injecting among Mexican American non-injecting heroin users. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse 6(2): 49-73, 2007

This study examines potential risk factors for resuming and transitioning to injecting among a prospective cohort of 300 Mexican American non-injecting heroin users (NIUs) with distinct injecting histories (i.e., never vs. former injectors). Overall, findings revealed NIUs with an injecting history are more likely to be at greater risk for resuming injecting practices. Of interest, scoring high on acculturation decreased the risk of being a former injector. The present analysis supports previous research, and more importantly further identifies potential risk factors for injecting that are unique to the cultural and social context of theMexican American community.

Valdez A; Sifaneck SJ. "Getting high and getting by": Dimensions of drug selling behaviors among American Mexican gang members in South Texas. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 41(1): 82-105, 2004. (53 refs.)

This article discerns the role that Mexican American gang members play in drug markets, and the relationship between gang members' drug use and drug selling in South Texas. A four-part typology based on the two dimensions of gang type and gang member emerged from this qualitative analysis of 160 male gang members: Homeboys, Hustlers, Slangers, and Ballers. Major findings include the following: (1) many gang members are user/sellers and are not profit-oriented dealers, (2) gangs commonly do extend "protection" to drug-selling members, and (3) proximity to Mexican drug markets, adult prison gangs, and criminal family members may play important roles in whether these gang members have access and the profit potential to actually deal drugs. This research contributes to our complex intersections between gangs, drug using, and drug selling.

Vega WA; Sribney W. Parental risk factors and social assimilation in alcohol dependence of Mexican Americans. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 64(2): 167-175, 2003. (42 refs.)

Objective: This study examines the reciprocal relationship of social assimilation and four parental behavioral risk factors in the intergenerational development of alcohol abuse or dependence (AAD) among adults of Mexican origin in the United States. Whereas many studies have shown U.S. nativity and English language use are markers for enhanced risk of AAD among Mexican Americans, such studies have not examined the extent to which predisposing biobehavioral factors are conditioned by social assimilation in the United States. Method: Language use patterns as a proxy of cultural assimilation and length of time in the US. as a proxy for social assimilation were used to compare the distribution of parental behavioral factors (alcohol, drug abuse, depression and anxiety) and the influence of these factors on AAD onset in adult children of Mexican immigrants. Data were obtained from an epidemiologic field survey in Central California of 3,012 Mexican origin adults. Results: Complex effects structured by gender were found: parental behavioral risk factors predicted AAD onset; Mexican American adults born in the U.S. were much more likely than were immigrants to report parents with behavioral risk factors; women were more susceptible to the effects of parent risk factors in the context of social and cultural assimilation. Women required more total risk factor exposure, including parent risk factors, for AAD onset. Conclusions: Reciprocal influences of parent risk factors on assimilation were found, suggesting that parental behavioral factor effects on AAD in adult children of Mexican Americans are subordinate to social and cultural assimilation.

Vega WA; Sribney WM; Achara-Abrahams I. Co-occurring alcohol, drug, and other psychiatric disorders among Mexican-origin people in the United States. American Journal of Public Health 93(7): 1057-1064, 2003. (45 refs.)

We examined co-occurrence of (comorbid) alcohol, drug, and non-substance use psychiatric disorders in a population sample of Mexican-origin adults from rural and urban areas of central California. Co-occurring lifetime rates of alcohol or other drug disorders with non-substance use psychiatric disorders, or both, were 8.3% for men and 5.5% for women and were 12.3% for the US born and 3.5% for immigrants. Alcohol abuse or dependence with co-occurring psychiatric disorders is a primary disorder among Mexican-origin adult males (7.5% lifetime prevalence). US-born men and women are almost equally likely to have co-occurring disorders involving substances. Comorbidity is expected to increase in the Mexican-origin population owing to acculturation effects of both sexes.

Viel K; Charlesworth J; Tejero E; Dyer T; Cole S; Haack K et al. A linkage analysis of cigarette and alcohol consumption in an unselected Mexican American population. American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics 147B(6): 983-986, 2008. (28 refs.)

The use of alcohol and tobacco is highly prevalent. Studying the rate of consumption in a non-selected population could contribute to the elucidation of pathways involved in addiction or to the development of prevention programs. The San Antonio Family Heart Study has approximately 1,400 members with longitudinal data and did not select the proband with regard to exposure status. The goal of this study was to perform genome-wide linkage analysis of the rate of alcohol and cigarette consumption in a "normal" population. We used SOLAR to perform variance-components based analysis of the transformed maximal rate of consumption. Despite estimated heritabilities of 0.52 (P < 0.001) for cigarette and 0.39 (P < 0.001) for alcohol consumption, univariate linkage analyses produced only suggestive LOD scores, however the second suggestive linkage peak for the alcohol phenotype was present at 148 cM on chromosome 10, in the exact vicinity of the peak for the cigarette phenotype. In a bivariate analyses, the environmental correlation between alcohol and cigarette consumption was not significantly different from zero (rho(e) = -0.15, P = 0.18) and the overall genetic correlation was not different from zero (rho(g) = 0.16, P = 0.34). The results from the bivariate linkage analysis found a maximum LOD score of 3.82 (genome-wide P = 0.0054) at 151 cM on chromosome 10, at the location of the overlapping peaks from the univariate analyses.

Yabiku S; Kulis S; Marsiglia FF; Lewin B; Nieri T; Hussaini S. Neighborhood effects on the efficacy of a program to prevent youth alcohol use. Substance Use & Misuse 42(1): 65-87, 2007. (64 refs.)

This study examines how neighborhood characteristics affect program efficacy. Data come from a randomized trial of a substance use prevention program called keepin' it REAL, which was administered to a predominantly Mexican American sample of 4,622 middle school students in Phoenix, Arizona, beginning in 1998. Multilevel models and multiple imputation techniques address clustered data and attrition. Among less linguistically acculturated Latinos, living in poorer neighborhoods and those with many single-mother families decreased program effectiveness in combating alcohol use. High neighborhood immigrant composition increased program effectiveness. Unexpectedly, the program was also more effective in neighborhoods with higher rates of crime. There were no significant effects on program efficacy for the more linguistically acculturated Latinos and non-Hispanic White students. Findings are discussed in light of theories of neighborhood social disorganization, immigrant adaptation, and social isolation.

Yang M; Tsuang J; Wan YJY. A haplotype analysis of CYP2E1 polymorphisms in relation to alcoholic phenotypes in Mexican Americans. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 31(12): 1991-2000, 2007. (74 refs.)

Background: Studies regarding the association between the 4 polymorphisms of CYP2E1 (CYP2E1*1D, *5B, *6, and *1B) and alcoholism are inconsistent and inconclusive. The purpose of the present study was to clarify previously discordant studies by haplotype analysis in the Mexican American population. Methods: The 4 polymorphisms of CYP2E1 were studied in 334 alcoholics and 365 controls. Genotype, allele, and haplotype frequency comparisons between alcoholics and controls were assessed. Patterns of linkage disequilibrium (LD) at CYP2E1 were determined. Reconstructed haplotypes were tested for associations with clinical phenotypes (age onset of drinking, Maxdrinks, and smoking status). Results No significant associations between the 4 polymorphisms of CYP2E1 and alcoholism were revealed by single allele tests. High LD was found between the CYP2E1 c2 and C alleles in Mexican Americans. Eleven haplotypes were present in the 699 participants. The 6 main haplotypes with frequencies higher than 1% made up 97% of the total halpotypes. The frequency of subjects carrying H6 (1C-c2-C-A2) was significantly higher in alcoholics than in controls (p = 0.0001). In contrast, the frequencies of H7 (1C-c2-C-A1) and H10 (1C-c2-D-A1) were significantly lower in alcoholics than in controls (p = 0.0072 for H7 and p = 0.0407 for H10). The frequency of H6 was significantly higher in alcoholics who had late onset of drinking than in nonalcoholic controls. Furthermore, the frequencies of H6 haplotype were also consistently higher in groups who had high number of maximum drinks (9 to 32 drinks) than in controls. When smokers are excluded, the frequencies of H6, H7, and H9 (1C-c2-D-A2) showed statistically significant differences between alcoholics and controls (p < 0.05). Moreover, the association between H6 and alcoholism become more robust when smokers are excluded. Furthermore, the frequency of H1 (1C-c1-D-A2) in alcoholic-smokers was much higher than in alcoholic-nonsmokers (p = 0.0028). In contrast, alcoholic-smokers carried less H2 (1C-c1-D-A1) in comparison with alcoholic-nonsmokers (p = 0.0417). The H3 (1D-c2-C-A2) frequency in alcoholic-smokers was much lower than in alcoholic-nonsmokers (p = 0.0042) and control-smokers (p = 0.0363). Conclusion Our data demonstrate that carrying haplotype H6 might enhance susceptibility to developing alcoholism, but possessing the H7 or H10 haplotype appears to decrease this susceptibility. The H6, H7, and H9 haplotypes may play certain roles in different clinical phenotypes in Mexican American alcoholics. In addition, our data suggest that the H1, H2, and H3 haplotypes are associated with alcohol drinking and smoking. These results support that haplotype analysis is much more informative than single allele analysis. Our findings clearly indicate the importance of H6 haplotype in alcohol drinking in Mexican Americans.

Zamboanga BL; Raffaelli M; Horton NJ. Acculturation status and heavy alcohol use among Mexican American college students: Investigating the moderating role of gender. Addictive Behaviors 31(12): 2188-2198, 2006. (31 refs.)

We examined whether gender moderates the association between acculturation and heavy alcohol use. The sample consisted of 126 Mexican American college students (Mean age = 24.7 years; 57% female) who completed self-report measures of heavy alcohol use, acculturation status (global acculturation and ethnic identity), and relevant control variables (age, peer alcohol use). Multivariable regression revealed that higher levels of ethnic identity were associated with greater frequency of heavy alcohol among men. Conversely, neither measure of acculturation was associated with heavy alcohol use among women. These findings suggest that interventions for Latino/a students should consider the role of culturally relevant variables in heavy alcohol use, particularly for men. They also have implications regarding how acculturation is operationalized in alcohol studies, and suggest directions for future research.

CORK Bibliography: Mexican-Americans

61 citations. January 2003 to present

Prepared: March 2009

Alvarez J; Olson BD; Jason LA; Davis MI; Ferrari JR. Heterogeneity among Latinas and Latinos entering substance abuse treatment: Findings from a national database. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 26(4): 277-284, 2004. (59 refs.)

Barnett NP; Monti PM; Cherpitel C; Bendtsen P; Borges G; Colby SM et al. Identification and brief treatment of alcohol problems with medical patients: An international perspective. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 27(2): 262-270, 2003. (51 refs.)

Barrera M; Hageman DN; Gonzales NA. Revisiting Hispanic adolescents' resilience to the effects of parental problem drinking and life stress. American Journal of Community Psychology 34(1/2): 83-94, 2004. (40 refs.)

Benowitz NL; Bernert JT; Caraballo RS; Holiday DB; Wang JT. Optimal serum cotinine levels for distinguishing cigarette smokers and nonsmokers within different racial/ethnic groups in the United States between 1999 and 2004. American Journal of Epidemiology 169(2): 236-248, 2009. (19 refs.)

Blume AW; Orona JA; Perez S; Villanueva MR. Alcohol expectancies significantly predicted consequences at three month follow-up among Mexican-American college students. (meeting abstract). Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 28(5 Supplement): 101A-101A, 2004. (2 refs.)

Borges G; Medina-Mora ME; Lown A; Ye Y; Robertson MJ; Cherpitel C et al. Alcohol use disorders in national samples of Mexcicans and Mexican-Americans: The Mexican National Addiction Survey and the US National Alcohol Survey. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 28(3): 425-449, 2006. (33 refs.)

Bray JH; Adams GJ; Getz JG; McQueen A. Individuation, peers, and adolescent alcohol use: A latent growth analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 71(3): 553-564, 2003. (81 refs.)

Caetano RM. The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): Rates and predictors of alcohol abuse and dependence across Hispanic national groups. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 69(4): 441-448, 2008. (35 refs.)

Cepeda A; Valdez A. Risk behaviors among young Mexican American gang-associated females: Sexual relations, partying, substance use, and crime. Journal of Adolescent Research 18(1): 90-106, 2003. (45 refs.)

Chakraborty BM; Mueller WH; Reeves R; Poston WSC; Holscher DM; Quill B; Hanis CL; Foreyt JP. Migration history, health behaviors, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in overweight Mexican-American women. Ethnicity & Disease 13(1): 94-108, 2003. (48 refs.)

Chalela P; Velez LF; Ramirez AG. Social influences, and attitudes and beliefs associated with smoking among border Latino youth. Journal of School Health 77(4): 187-195, 2007. (45 refs.)

Cherpitel CJ; Bond J. DUI recidivism: A comparison of Mexican Americans and whites in a northern California county. (rapid communication). Addictive Behaviors 28(5): 963-969, 2003. (13 refs.)

Cherpitel CJ; Robertson M; Ye Y; Borges G; Bautista CF; Lown A et al. Comorbidity for alcohol use disorders and drug use in Mexican-origin groups: Comparison of data from national alcohol surveys in the U.S. and Mexico. Substance Use & Misuse 42(11): 1685-1703, 2007. (53 refs.)

Elek E; Miller-Day M; Hecht ML. Influences of personal, injunctive, and descriptive norms on early adolescent substance use. Journal of Drug Issues 36(1): 147-171, 2006. (67 refs.)

Fisher DG; Reynolds GL; Moreno-Branson CM; Jaffe A; Wood MM; Klahn JA et al. Drug treatment needs of Hispanic drug users in Long Beach, California. Journal of Drug Issues 34(4): 879-894, 2004. (49 refs.)

Guilamo-Ramos V; Jaccard J; Johansson M; Turrisi R. Binge drinking among Latino youth: Role of acculturation-related variables. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 18(2): 135-142, 2004. (33 refs.)

Gutierres SE; Barr A. The relationship between attitudes toward pregnancy and contraception use among drug users. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 24(1): 19-29, 2003. (80 refs.)

Hecht ML; Graham JW; Elek E. The Drug Resistance Strategies intervention: Program effects on substance use. Health Education 20(3): 267-276, 2006. (43 refs.)

Hecht ML; Graham JW; Elek E. The Drug Resistance Strategies intervention: Program effects on substance use. Health Education 20(3): 267-276, 2006. (43 refs.)

Hecht ML; Warren JR; Wagstaff DA; Elek E. Substance use, resistance skills, decision making, and refusal efficacy among Mexican and Mexican American preadolescents. Health Communication 23(4): 349-357, 2008. (52 refs.)

Hernandez DV; Skewes MC; Resor MR; Villanueva MR; Hanson BS; Blume AW. A pilot test of an alcohol skills training programme for Mexican-American college students. International Journal of Drug Policy 17(4, Special Issue): 320-328, 2006. (50 refs.)

Holleran LK; Jung S. Acculturative stress, violence, and resilience in the lives of Mexican-American youth. IN: Bride BE; MacMaster SA, eds. Stress, Trauma and Substance Use. New York: Routledge, 2006. (59 refs.)

Konishi T; Calvillo M; Leng AS; Feng J; Lee T; Lee H et al. ADH3*2 and CYP2E1 c2 alleles increase the risk of alcoholism in Mexican American men. Experimental and Molecular Pathology 74(2): 183-189, 2003. (44 refs.)

Konishi T; Calvillo M; Leng AS; Lin KM; Wan YJY. Polymorphisms of the dopamine D-2 receptor, serotonin transporter, and GABA(A) receptor beta(3) subunit genes and alcoholism in Mexican-Americans. Alcohol 32(1): 45-52, 2004. (70 refs.)

Konishi T; Luo HR; Calvillo M; Mayo MS; Lin KM; Wan YJY. ADH1B*1, ADH1C*2, DRD2 (-141C Ins), and 5-HTTLPR are associated with alcoholism in Mexican American men living in Los Angeles. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 28(8): 1145-1152, 2004. (64 refs.)

Kulis S; Marsiglia FF; Hurdle D. Gender identity, ethnicity, acculturation, and drug use: Exploring differences among adolescents in the Southwest. Journal of Community Psychology 31(2): 167-188, 2003. (52 refs.)

Lee JH; Ku JG; Kim K; Yang BH; Kim SH; Wiederhold BK et al. Experimental application of virtual reality for nicotine craving through cue exposure. Cyberpsychology & Behavior 6(3): 275-280, 2003. (10 refs.)

Leng A-S; Calvillo M; Konishi T; Guzman GD; Pineda E; Lin K-M. Characteristics and drinking patterns in alcohol abusing Mexican American men. Addictive Disorders and Their Treatment 3(1): 14-17, 2004. (13 refs.)

Losoya SH; Knight GP; Chassin L; Little M; Vargas-Chanes D; Mauricio A et al. Trajectories of acculturation and enculturation in relation to heavy episodic drinking and marijuana use in a sample of Mexican American serious juvenile offenders. Journal of Drug Issues 38(1): 171-198, 2008. (73 refs.)

Luo HR; Hou F; Wu J; Zhang YP; Wan YJY. Evolution of the DRD2 gene haplotype and its association with alcoholism in Mexican Americans. Alcohol 36(2): 117-125, 2005. (48 refs.)

Luo H-R; Konishi T; Tsuang J; Wan Y-JY. Comparison of alcohol drinking behaviors and associated problems between benders and nonbenders in Mexican Americans who drink excessively. Addictive Disorders and their Treatment 5(3): 121-127, 2006. (19 refs.)

MacPherson L; Myers MG. Invariance study of an adolescent survey-based smoking-related cognitions scale: Examination across Hispanic and Caucasian groups. Preventive Medicine 39(5): 1026-1035, 2004. (63 refs.)

Marsiglia FF; Kulis S; Nieri T; Parsai M. God forbid! Substance use among religious and nonreligious youth. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 75(4): 585-598, 2005. (43 refs.)

Martinez-Donate AP; Hovell F; Hofstetter CR; Gonzalez-Perez GJ; Adams MA; Kotay A. Correlates of home smoking bans among Mexican-Americans. American Journal of Health Promotion 21(4): 229-236, 2007. (35 refs.)

Martinez-Donate AP; Hovell MF; Hofstetter CR; Gonzalez-Perez GJ; Kotay A; Adams MA. Crossing borders: The impact of the California tobacco control program on both sides of the US - Mexico border. American Journal of Public Health 98(2): 258-267, 2008. (47 refs.)

Medina C; Luna G. Suicide attempts among adolescent Mexican-American students enrolled in special education classes. Adolescence 41(162): 299-312, 2006. (41 refs.)

Miller JM; Miller HV; Zapata JT; Yin ZN. Mexican-American youth drug use and acculturation: A note on the mitigating effects of contextual dynamics. Journal of Drug Issues 38(1): 199-214, 2008. (38 refs.)

Morgan-Lopez AA; Castro FG; Chassin L; MacKinnon DP. A mediated moderation model of cigarette use among Mexican American youth. (rapid communication). Addictive Behaviors 28(3): 583-589, 2003. (11 refs.)

Nieri T; Kulis S; Keith VM; Hurdle D. Body image, acculturation, and substance abuse among boys and girls in the southwest. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 31(4): 617-639, 2005. (49 refs.)

Osborne C; Manning WD; Smock PJ. Married and cohabiting parents' relationship stability: A focus on race and ethnicity. Journal of Marriage and the Family 69(5): 1345-1366, 2007. (69 refs.)

Pena JM; Koss-Chioino JD; Bay C. Searching for universals: Preliminary evidence for the validity of substance abuse subtypes in a sample of Mexican American youths. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 29(2): 445-461, 2003. (18 refs.)

Ramirez AG; Suarez L; Chalela P; Talavera GA; Marti J; Trapido EJ et al. Cancer risk factors among men of diverse Hispanic or Latino origins. Preventive Medicine 39(2): 263-269, 2004. (26 refs.)

Rivera-Hidalgo F; Shulman JD; Beach MM. The association of tobacco and other factors with recurrent aphthous stomatitis in an US adult population. Oral Diseases 10(6): 335-345, 2004. (69 refs.)

Russo D; Purohit V; Foudin L; Salin M. Workshop on alcohol use and health disparities 2002: A call to arms. (editorial). Alcohol 32(1): 37-43, 2004. (14 refs.)

Stewart SH; Connors GJ; Hutson A. Ethnicity and gamma-glutamyltransferase in men and women with alcohol use disorders. Alcohol and Alcoholism 42(1): 24-27, 2007. (22 refs.)

Stimpson JP; Masel MC; Rudkin L; Peek MK. Shared health behaviors among older Mexican American spouses. American Journal of Health Behavior 30(5): 495-502, 2006. (33 refs.)

Strunina L; Edwards EM; Godette DC; Heerene T. Country of origin, age of drinking onset, and drinking patterns among Mexican American young adults. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 91(2/3): 134-140, 2007. (57 refs.)

Tonin SL; Burrow-Sanchez JJ; Harrison RS; Kircher JC. The influence of attitudes, acculturation, and gender on substance use for Mexican American middle school students. Addictive Behaviors 33(7): 949-954, 2008. (7 refs.)

Valdez A. Mexican American youth and adult prison gangs in a changing heroin market. Journal of Drug Issues 35(4): 843-867, 2005. (49 refs.)

Valdez A; Kaplan C. Conditions that increase drug market involvement: The invitational edge and the case of Mexicans in South Texas. Journal of Drug Issues 37(4): 893-918, 2007. (65 refs.)

Valdez A; Kaplan CD; Cepeda A. The drugs-violence nexus among Mexican-American gang members. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 38(2): 109-121, 2006. (74 refs.)

Valdez A; NeaigusA; Cepeda A. Potential risk factors for injecting among Mexican American non-injecting heroin users. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse 6(2): 49-73, 2007

Valdez A; Sifaneck SJ. "Getting high and getting by": Dimensions of drug selling behaviors among American Mexican gang members in South Texas. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 41(1): 82-105, 2004. (53 refs.)

Vega WA; Sribney W. Parental risk factors and social assimilation in alcohol dependence of Mexican Americans. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 64(2): 167-175, 2003. (42 refs.)

Vega WA; Sribney WM; Achara-Abrahams I. Co-occurring alcohol, drug, and other psychiatric disorders among Mexican-origin people in the United States. American Journal of Public Health 93(7): 1057-1064, 2003. (45 refs.)

Viel K; Charlesworth J; Tejero E; Dyer T; Cole S; Haack K et al. A linkage analysis of cigarette and alcohol consumption in an unselected Mexican American population. American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics 147B(6): 983-986, 2008. (28 refs.)

Yabiku S; Kulis S; Marsiglia FF; Lewin B; Nieri T; Hussaini S. Neighborhood effects on the efficacy of a program to prevent youth alcohol use. Substance Use & Misuse 42(1): 65-87, 2007. (64 refs.)

Yang M; Tsuang J; Wan YJY. A haplotype analysis of CYP2E1 polymorphisms in relation to alcoholic phenotypes in Mexican Americans. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 31(12): 1991-2000, 2007. (74 refs.)

Zamboanga BL; Raffaelli M; Horton NJ. Acculturation status and heavy alcohol use among Mexican American college students: Investigating the moderating role of gender. Addictive Behaviors 31(12): 2188-2198, 2006. (31 refs.)

Konishi T; Calvillo M; Leng AS; Feng J; Lee T; Lee H et al. ADH32 and CYP2E1 c2 alleles increase the risk of alcoholism in Mexican American men. Experimental and Molecular Pathology* 74(2): 183-189, 2003. (44 refs.)

Konishi T; Luo HR; Calvillo M; Mayo MS; Lin KM; Wan YJY. ADH1B1, ADH1C2, DRD2 (-141C Ins), and 5-HTTLPR are associated with alcoholism in Mexican American men living in Los Angeles. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 28(8): 1145-1152, 2004. (64 refs.)