Effects of Differential Family Acculturation on Latino Adolescent Substance Use*

• Published date: 01 July 2006
• Author: Charles R. Martinez
• Date: 01 July 2006
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00404.x

Effects of Differential Family Acculturation on Latino

Adolescent Substance Use*

Charles R. Martinez Jr.**

Abstract: This study examined links between parent-youth differential acculturation and youth substance-use likeli-

hood in a sample of 73 recently immigrated Latino families with middle-school-aged youth. Multiple agents were

utilized to assess family functioning and youth outcomes. Findings suggested that a greater level of differential accul-

turation between parents and youth was associated with greater likelihood of future youth substance use. However,

the relationship between differential acculturation and youth substance use was mediated by family stress processes

and effective parenting practices. Differential acculturation was related to increases in family stress and decreases in

effective parenting practices, and each of these, in turn, was related to increases in future substance-use likelihood

among Latino youth. Findings implicate the need for advancing policies and practices that address acculturation as

a family process, rather than as merely an individual psychological phenomenon.

Key Words: adolescent substance use, differential acculturation, Latino families, parenting.

Substance use and abuse are among the most well-

documented behavioral health risks for Latino

youth. There is evidence that lifetime drug-use rates

for Latinos are increasing, and that use and related

outcomes pose a significant public health problem

for Latino communities (Martinez, Eddy, & DeGarmo,

2003; Vega & Gil, 1999). However, despite stereo-

types to the contrary, the problem of substance use

and abuse does not occur with greater frequency in

Latino subgroups (or in other minority subgroups)

compared to nonminority groups. Rather, Latino youth

may be at greater risk for problems that covary with

substance use, such as school failure and dropout,

incarceration, and poor physical and mental health

(Gonzales, Dumka, Deardorff, Jacobs-Carter, &

McCray, 2004; Kandel, 1995; Locke & Newcomb,

2005). Further, it is clear that risk for substance-use

initiation and abuse for Latino youth grows substan-

tially as they become more acculturated to U.S. society

(Amaro,Whitaker,Coffman,&Heeren,1990;Ortega,

Rosenheck, Alegria, & Desai, 2000).

Yet, the effects of acculturation on youth sub-

stance use and other behavioral health outcomes

are poorly understood. Although acculturation

has been linked to a host of important adjust-

ment outcomes for families and youth (Gonzales,

Knight, Morgan-Lopez, Saenz, & Sirolli, 2002),

the substantive findings have been equivocal,

with some studies showing positive effects of

acculturation, some showing negative effects, and

some showing curvilinear effects, depending on

the measurement strategy employed and the out-

comes being examined (Cabassa, 2003; Rogler,

Cortes, & Malgady, 1991). Part of the reason for

the equivocal nature of acculturation effects on

behavioral health outcomes is related to the com-

plex and interactive nature of the acculturation

process within individuals and families. In this

study, we examined how differences in the accul-

turation pathways of Latino parents and youth

predict family functioning and youth likelihood

of substance use.

*Support for this project was provided by grants R21 DA14617 and R01 DA017937 (C. R. M.), and P20 DA17592 (J. B. R.) from the National Institute on Drug

Abuse, U.S. PHS. We thank our colleagues at Centro LatinoAmericano and the larger community for their support during the study, the many members of the OSLC

Latino Research Team for carrying out the recruitment, assessment, and intervention work, and Diana Wilcoxen for editorial assistance.

**Charles R. Martinez, Jr. is a Research Scientist at the Oregon Social Learning Center, 160 East Fourth Avenue, Eugene, OR 97401 (charlesm@oslc.org).

Family Relations, 55 (July 2006), 306–317. Blackwell Publishing.

Copyright 2006 by the National Council on Family Relations.