Pathways from acculturation stress to substance use among latino adolescents.
The purpose of this study was to examine the link between acculturation stress and substance use among Latino adolescents. In-home interviews were completed with the participants at four time-points between 2005 and 2007. Path analysis was completed using longitudinal data from 286 Latino adolescents living in North Carolina and Arizona (65% foreign-born). Results indicate that acculturation stress influences family and friend relationships, which in turn affect adolescent mental health problems, and finally, substance use. Key mediators in the pathway from acculturation stress to substance use were parent-adolescent conflict, internalizing, and externalizing problems. Implications for practice and research have been discussed here.
Buchanan
Rachel Lee
RL
Social Work Department, Salisbury University, 1101 Camden Ave., Salisbury, MD 21801, USA. rlbuchanan@salisbury.edu
Smokowski
Paul Richard
PR
D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009769:Object Attachment; D011287:Prejudice; D012307:Risk Factors; D012933:Social Identification; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States