Linking Acculturation to Latino Adolescent Substance Use

说明(由申请人提供)：本提案的目的是解决预防文献中关于拉美裔青年使用药物的发展和相关问题的一个重大空白。拉美裔人口是美国增长最快的种族亚群，但我们对人口风险和保护机制的科学理解远远落后于增长率。虽然流行病学数据表明，与普通青年人口相比，拉美裔青年使用药物的风险并不大，但一些数据表明，他们可能面临与药物使用同时发生的问题的更大风险(例如，学业失败、监禁、健康状况不佳)。在外国出生的拉美裔年轻人似乎特别容易出现这样的问题，越来越多的证据表明，随着拉美裔年轻人更多地适应美国社会，他们开始使用药物和滥用药物的风险大幅增加。理论模型表明，文化适应过程与其他背景因素(如社会经济地位、社会支持过程)一起通过影响更接近的变量(即育儿实践)间接地影响青少年的适应。文献中坚实的理论基础导致了一系列干预措施的开发和测试，这些干预措施旨在改善文化适应对拉美裔年轻人的潜在有害影响。然而，理论和应用干预工作背后的经验基础是稀少的。事实上，很少有经验性研究考察文化适应过程中的变化如何随着时间的推移而展开，以预测处于该过程不同阶段的家庭的结果。 目前的研究将通过检查225个新移民的拉丁裔家庭的物质使用和相关问题的发展路径，帮助填补这一空白。这项前瞻性的纵向设计将使用多种方法和代理，在长达14年的居住期内对家庭过程变量进行横向评估，并允许在三年的调整期内对个别家庭的轨迹进行纵向检查。本研究的目的是：(1)考察文化适应过程、社会背景和社会支持过程对拉美裔移民家庭的家庭环境、育儿实践、青少年物质使用及相关问题的纵向影响；(2)考察在美国居住的年限对拉美裔移民家庭的文化适应过程与青少年物质使用及相关问题发展的影响；(3)检验基于社会互动学习理论的综合理论模型，该模型具体说明了家庭环境和父母教养方式对拉美裔移民青年及其家庭的宏观系统和外部系统因素(即适应过程、社会背景和社会支持过程)和物质使用及相关问题之间的关系的中介效应。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this proposal is to address a significant gap in the prevention literature about the development of substance use and related problems for Latino youth. The Latino population is the fastest growing ethnic subgroup in the U.S., yet our scientific understanding about mechanisms of risk and protection in the population has lagged far behind the growth rate. While epidemiological data support that Latino youth are at no greater risk for substance use than the general youth population, some data indicate that they might be at greater risk for problems that co-occur with substance use (e.g., school failure, incarceration, poor health). Foreign-born Latino youngsters seem to be at particular risk for such problems, and there is growing evidence that risk for substance use initiation and abuse for Latino youth grows substantially as they become more acculturated to the U.S. society. Theoretical models suggest that acculturation processes along with other contextual factors (e.g., socioeconomic status, social support processes) exert their effects on youngster adjustment indirectly, by impacting more proximal variables (i.e., parenting practices). Strong theoretical foundations in the literature have led to the development and testing of a host of interventions designed to ameliorate potential deleterious effects of acculturation for Latino youngsters. Yet, the empirical basis underlying the theory and applied intervention work is sparse. In fact, few empirical studies have been conducted that examine how changes in acculturation processes unfold over time to predict outcomes for families at different stages in the process. The current study will help fill this gap by examining the developmental pathways towards substance use and related problems for 225 recently immigrated Latino families. The prospective, longitudinal design will employ multiple methods and agents to assess family process variables cross-sectionally across up to a 14-year time in residency period, and allows for longitudinal examination of individual family trajectories across a three-year adjustment period. The aims are to: (1) examine the longitudinal effects of acculturation processes, social contexts, and social support processes on family environment, parenting practices, and youth substance use and related problems for immigrant Latino families; (2) examine the effects of years in U.S. residency on the relationship between acculturation processes and the development of youngster substance use and related problems for immigrant Latino families; and (3) test an integrative theoretical model based on social interaction learning theory that specifies mediating effects of family environment and parenting practices on the relationships between macrosystem and exosystem factors (i.e., acculturation processes, social contexts, and social support processes) and substance use and related problems for immigrant Latino youth and their families.