title: Cultural values associated with substance use among Hispanic adolescents in southern California.
abstract: Cultural values can shape people's attitudes toward substance use and influence their risk of experimentation with drugs. This article examines the relationships between cultural values (familism, respeto, and machismo), fatalism (a culturally encouraged personality disposition), and substance use among Hispanic adolescents. In 2005, cross-sectional data were collected from 1,616 Hispanic ninth grade students in Los Angeles. Each cultural value was associated with lifetime substance use; however, these relationships depended on the type of substance and gender. Our findings suggest that it might be useful to incorporate the cultural values and address the personality trait of fatalism in prevention programs for Hispanic adolescents. The study's limitations are noted.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research, University of Southern California, Alhambra, California 91803, USA. Toya@usc.edu
authors.forename: Claradina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Soto
authors.forename: Jennifer B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Unger
authors.forename: Anamara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ritt-Olson
authors.forename: Daniel W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Soto
authors.forename: David Scott
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baezconde-Garbanati
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology; D013334:Students; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000208:ethnology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires