Information on Hispanic Alcoholism & Rehab Rates

“Cultural competence can mean [language], but significant portions of the Latinx community in the United States call English their first language. It doesn’t necessarily mean linguistics, although linguistics are really important, but also the understanding of cultural and family values,” says Vakharia. Social workers play a pivotal role in recovery as they are often the primary healthcare professional who serves people with SUDs.

Given these mixed findings and the rapid growth and diversity of Hispanics/Latinos in the U.S., more current research is needed to examine the relationship between various social factors and drinking patterns in this population. Hispanics/Latinos include a diverse array of heritage groups, socioeconomic statuses, and degrees of acculturation (i.e., generational status, years living in the US, and language use preferences). Thus, inclusion of these data is essential to better understand Hispanic/Latino population’s risk factors for at-risk alcohol consumption.

The relationship between at-risk alcohol use and socio-economic status (SES) is unclear, whereby risk levels may be similar between low and high SES individuals. However, several global studies have shown a clear association between negative alcohol-related health outcomes, such as alcohol-related mortality and socioeconomic deprivation[19–21]. Thus, while at-risk levels may not vary by SES, when considering the negative effects, the relationship with SES is strengthened making low-SES individual much more at risk. One study has shown that low-SES Latinos, specifically of Mexican-origin, in the United States may be at disproportionate risk of harmful drinking patterns pervasive in their country of origin [22]. Given that Hispanics/Latinos are more likely to experience SES disparities in the United States [23], more research is needed.

Latino Americans And Alcohol Trends

Generally, Latino American men progress from liver impairment to liver disease at higher rates than others. Alcohol use severity was measured with the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), which has been validated in Spanish (Babor et al., 2001). The AUDIT consists of 10 self-reported items with varied response choices on a Likert-type scale ranging from 0 to 4. Summed scores range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher alcohol use severity.

Latino Americans’ alcohol consumption rates have changed over time and are more similar to U.S. rates. Characteristics of Latino Immigrants with or without a family history of alcohol use at baseline. Descriptive statistics including means, standard deviations were generated for all continuous variables and frequencies and proportions were generated for all categorical variables.

1. “Screening and brief intervention for excessive alcohol use (ASBI) is an effective clinical prevention strategy for reducing excessive drinking, but it is underused in clinical settings,” according to the CDC.
2. Acculturation refers to culture change and a transfer of values such as religious, social, and health values from one group to another.
3. Hispanics/Latinos include a diverse array of heritage groups, socioeconomic statuses, and degrees of acculturation (i.e., generational status, years living in the US, and language use preferences).
4. Census characteristics by age, sex and Hispanic background in each field center’s target population.

Multinomial logistic regression models were used to assess odds of alcohol use (former and current versus never (reference)) and alcohol use disorder risk (low and at-risk versus no risk (reference)). While binge drinking can bring upon health problems and lead to serious risks such as unintentional injuries like motor vehicle crashes, falls, burns, and alcohol poisoning. The NIAAA reported that in 2019, 825,000 young people reported binge drinking on 5 or more days over the past month.

Special Treatment Concerns

Levels of acculturation could also greatly influence alcohol use among this population (Castañeda et al., 2019; Zemore, 2007). Acculturation is a complex process in which a cultural exchange happens where individuals adopt practices and values of a host country while also retaining their own culture (Schwartz et al., 2010). Schwartz et al., proposed a multidimensional perspective on acculturation emphasizing domains of cultural practices, values, and identification of both the receiving community and heritage culture (Schwartz et al., 2010). Cultural practices include items such as language use, cultural customs, and social affiliations. In terms of identity, ethnic identification is the extent to which an individual endorses their ethnic group.

Tailor substance use-related public health prevention messages

Mexican and South/Central American men who drink, binge drink at a rate of 46.2% and 42.9% respectively. The present analyses used data from nida principles of effective treatment a cross-sectional study with a sample of 200 participants from the Project on Health among Emerging Adult Latinos (Project HEAL). A quota sampling design was used to enroll participants in Maricopa County, Arizona and Miami-Dade County, Florida. The target quota for Arizona was 100 participants and within Arizona we aimed to enroll 15 non-college student women, 15 non-college student men, 35 college student women, and 35 college student men. Prospective participants were recruited (1) in-person by distributing flyers, (2) posting flyers with tear-off tabs, (3) social media, and (4) by emailing an announcement that described the study aims and procedures to organizations and individuals who may have had access to the target sample. It should be noted that at each respective study site most participants who were not current college students were recruited in-person by research personnel with experience in recruiting Hispanic participants for research studies.

A 2014 study found a relationship between substance use and discrimination among people from the Latinx community. While researchers observed some differences with regard to gender, whether people were born within or outside the United States, and ethnic subgroups, they nonetheless concluded that discrimination affected the health and well-being of all members of the Latinx community. Hispanic women had one of the highest increases in alcohol consumption the last year, likely as a response to increased stress and caregiving what is a sponser responsibilities from the pandemic, per a study on drinking habits. Self-reported past-month use of alcohol in Hispanic adolescents (15.8%) was generally consistent with the national average of past-month alcohol use for individuals between the ages of 12 and 17 (16%). Of all ethnic groups, white Hispanic men have the highest rates of alcohol-related medical conditions (like liver cirrhosis), while black Hispanic men (from the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic, or Cuba) have the lowest–even when compared with non-Hispanic white adults.

One type of adaptation in this framework is sociocultural adaptation, operationalized as a person’s addiction recovery art “fit” within their new receiving culture and ability to respond to the demands of the social environment. This framework also proposed that individuals who develop a higher degree of sociocultural adaptation are more likely to experience better psychological adaptation (e.g., psychological and behavioral well-being; Berry, 1997). Building on this framework, we propose that acculturation will function as a moderator between indicators of sociocultural adaptation (e.g., bicultural self-efficacy domains) and an indicator of psychological adaptation (e.g., alcohol use). One limitation of this study is the cross-sectional design which does not allow for the exploration of the directionality of the associations among SES, acculturation, gender, and alcohol use.

Statistical analyses

The common suggestion to reduce time with loved ones who use drugs may not be compatible with Latinx people who prioritize tight family and community bonds. Though research and awareness about mental health and substance use in the Latinx community is increasing, more still needs to be done. Assimilation refers to the process individuals and groups of different backgrounds go through, such as learning a new language, when they adapt to a new, dominant culture of a society.

The CDC also reports that 1 in 6 U.S. adults binge drinks, with 25% doing so at least weekly. Some of the disparities in treatment that occur within the Hispanic community can be resolved through increased availability of culturally sensitive treatment programs. Unfortunately, Hispanic Americans experience greater consequences of their abuse of substances compared to than their non-Hispanic counterparts. Approximately 9.9% of Latino Americans qualified as having an Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in the past year that required treatment. Of that number, less than 10% received any addiction treatment from a facility designed to provide it.