Examining family factors and acculturation issues contributing to adolescent substance abuse in a Mexican American population

Substance abuse among ethnic minority adolescents is on the rise. Examining cultural and familial factors that affect these levels of substance abuse is important in order to provide appropriate intervention programs for such youth. Guided by Rutter's risk theory and the Process Model of Family Functioning, the current study examined the links between substance abuse in 120 Mexican American adolescents across familial and cultural variables. Levels of family functioning, family history of drug use, ethnic identity, acculturation orientation, and acculturative stress were examined using a substance abuse screening tool, the Family Assessment Measure Version III (FAM-III), the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans Version II (ARSMA-II), the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), and the Social, Attitudinal, Familial, and Environmental Acculturative Stress Scale -- Children's Version (SAFE-C). The research questions focus on substance abuse group membership prediction from knowledge of family and cultural variables. Data were analyzed using a discriminant function analysis. Family functioning, family history of drug use, and acculturation were found to be significant predictors of adolescent substance abuse. The results of this study provide new knowledge of cultural and familial risk factors for adolescent substance abuse among Mexican Americans, allowing for identification of those at greatest risk for initiating substance abuse. This study underlines the need to implement more effective and culturally appropriate prevention and intervention strategies to help lessen the risk of substance abuse within this ethnic group and reduce the prevalence of adolescents and families impacted by substance abuse disorders.