College drinking among Latinos(as) in the United States and Mexico.
OBJECTIVE
Existing studies of Latino(a) college students in the United States suggest that self-reported alcohol consumption tends to be higher among males, and that drinking among Latinas is often influenced by social and contextual factors. The current study extended this work by examining both self-reported drinking levels and predictors of drinking among Latino(a) college students in the United States and Mexico (MX).


METHODS
Latino(a) college students (N = 376) from three universities in the South Central United States and Northern Mexico completed pencil-and-paper surveys about alcohol.


RESULTS
US Latino students (vs. MX males), reported drinking more frequently and had more positive expectancies about alcohol. Latinas in the United States (vs. MX females) were more likely to report regular drinking. Across countries, both female gender and the Mexican orientation component of acculturation predicted lower reported alcohol consumption. Positive expectancies about drinking predicted increased drinking.


CONCLUSIONS
Self-reported college drinking and expectancies about alcohol may differ subtly among individuals in the United States and Mexico based on gender and endorsement of traditional Mexican values. These findings could ultimately be applied to the development of more tailored programs for the treatment and prevention of alcohol abuse on college campuses.
Department of Psychology, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas 78666, USA. ncl18@txstate.edu
Natalie A
NA
Ceballos
Maria
M
Czyzewska
Kristin
K
Croyle
D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014495:Universities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*