title: Social influence predictors of alcohol use among New York Latino youth.
abstract: We examined demographic and social influence predictors of adolescent drinking among New York City Latino adolescents, including specific Latino subgroups (i.e., Puerto Rican, Dominican, Colombian, and Ecuadorian). Sixth- and seventh-grade students (N = 3129) who identified themselves as Latino or Hispanic on the survey questionnaire comprised our Latino sample. The survey included self-reported frequency of alcohol use, demographic items, and measures of social influences for drinking. Logistic-regression analyses revealed that social influences (how many friends drink, attitudes of parents and friends toward respondent's drinking) are strong predictors of current drinking (defined as drinking at least once a month) for the overall sample of Latino youth, as well as for Puerto Rican youth and Dominican youth. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for prevention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Cornell University Medical College, New York, NY 10021.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dusenbury
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Botvin
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Diaz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D010379:Peer Group; D012307:Risk Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D012932:Social Facilitation; D014505:Urban Population