Alcohol Use among Mexican Youth along the U.S.-Mexico Border Region

描述(申请人提供)：当今美国正在发生的快速的金融、政治和社会变化对美国最边缘化社区的风险行为和健康结果产生了大规模的影响。居住在美墨边境社区的年轻人尤其容易受到这些过渡进程的影响，他们是一个基本上被忽视的人口，他们有记录的重度酒精消费水平远远超过目前的全国饮酒率。本研究旨在考察居住在美墨边境地区的墨西哥青年饮酒行为的社会经济和政治快速转变的综合微观和宏观层面的框架。这项研究由两个截然不同的阶段组成。在第一阶段，我们将进行两项定性活动。具体来说，我们将进行：1)聚焦 与来自政府机构、执法部门和当地卫生和服务提供者的当地关键线人(n=20)的小组，以及与居住在边境社区的青少年及其母亲(n=20对)进行的个别深入访谈。受第一阶段活动的启发，在第二阶段，我们将对居住在德克萨斯州边境社区的300名母亲-青少年二人进行调查，以确定青少年饮酒的政治、社会、文化、经济和个人层面的决定因素，这些因素将在更大范围内进一步探索 R01研究，并建立这些测量的同时效度。拟议的探索性研究将提供初步数据，以支持该研究计划的长期目标，即为边境青年制定有针对性的酒精预防干预措施。鉴于当前全球环境中不断和频繁发生破坏稳定的金融和政治事件，拟议的项目意义重大，有可能极大地影响与预防酒精和其他风险行为有关的概念框架。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The rapid financial, political and social changes on-going in the U.S. today have large-scale implications for the risk behavior and health outcomes in America's most marginalized communities. Particularly vulnerable to these transitional processes are youth residing in U.S.- Mexico border communities, a largely neglected population whose heavy documented levels of alcohol consumption far exceed the current national rate. The present study seeks to examine an integrated micro and macro level framework of socioeconomic and political rapid transition on drinking behavior among Mexican youth residing in the U.S.-Mexico border region. The study consists of two distinct phases. During Phase 1, we will conduct two qualitative activities. Specifically, we will conduct: 1) focus groups with local key informants (n=20) from government institutions, law enforcement, and local health and service providers and 2), individual in-depth interviews with adolescents and their mothers residing in border communities (n=20 dyads). Informed by Phase 1 activities, during Phase 2 we will develop and administer a survey to 300 mother-adolescent dyads residing in Texas border communities to identify the political, social, cultural, economic and individual-level determinants of adolescent alcohol use that will be further explored in the larger R01 study and to establish the concurrent validity of these measures. The proposed exploratory study will provide preliminary data to support the long term goal of the program of research, the development of a targeted alcohol prevention intervention for border youth. The proposed project is highly significant and has the potential to greatly impact conceptual frameworks related to prevention of alcohol and other risk behavior given the ongoing and frequent occurrence of destabilizing financial and political events in the current global environment.