Adolescent drug use in Mexico and among Mexican American adolescents in the United States: environmental influences and individual characteristics.

The authors compared high school students in Baja California Norte (BCN), Mexico (n = 775), with Mexican American students in Los Angeles (LA), California (n = 516). The students' use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, and other illicit drugs were compared, because these vary by gender, country, and their age of first drug use and are influenced by demographic variables, individual characteristics, and environmental influences. More BCN students than LA students had used alcohol, but more LA than BCN students had used illicit drugs and initiated drug use earlier. When demographic variables were influential, they were most powerful and increased the risk for drug use more than environmental factors or individual characteristics. Environmental factors were most influential for boys' drug use, whereas environmental and demographic variables were most influential for girls' drug use.

A qualitative evaluation of an assisted self-help group for drug-addicted clients in a structured outpatient treatment setting.

We conducted a qualitative evaluation of a semi-structured, client-led support group that addressed drug use recovery issues and was assisted by a psychological consultant. Seven regular group members and their counselors were interviewed about the effect of the assisted self-help group on drug use and the clients' quality of life, and these interviews were content analyzed. In addition, the psychological consultant made group process observations for each session of the first three months. Clients reported group strengths as: Feeling supported and understood, being able to speak freely without fear of staff reprisals, obtaining information/feedback, improved mood, and decreased drug use. With the provision of professional support and guidance, this group shows promise as an adjunct to standard outpatient drug abuse treatment by allowing for some degree of client independence and extending the scarce resource of professional counseling.

The role of intergenerational discrepancy of cultural orientation in drug use among Latina adolescents.

The role of intergenerational discrepancy for cultural orientation was examined in the etiology of drug use among Latina adolescents and in the context of family support. Intergenerational discrepancy occurs when a family member of one generation differs from a family member of another generation in cultural identity factors; this is usually manifested in conflict between a first generation child and the immigrant generation parent. It was hypothesized that the Latina adolescents experiencing intergenerational discrepancy might use drugs more frequently than Latina adolescents who were not; and that family support would be an important moderator of the relationship. A sample of 295 ninth and tenth grade Latina students (approximately 80% Mexican-American) from four Los Angeles area schools were surveyed as part of a larger study. In this secondary analysis, a 2 (family support ) x 2 (discrepancy) ANOVA revealed that intergenerational discrepancy was associated with more drug use in certain cases, and that family support did not moderate this relationship. Results partially validate and extend a theoretical model presented by Szapocznik and Kurtines (1980), and indicate a need to focus on cultural variables when intervening in drug use/misuse among Latina adolescents.

Multiple protective and risk factors for drug use and abuse: cross-sectional and prospective findings.

A conceptual elaboration was developed that incorporates many risk and protective factors, and both direct and moderating (buffering) influences on drug involvement were tested. From prospective data, 14 factors related to drug use were selected and assigned empirically to either a multiple protective index (PFI) or a risk factor index (RFI). Analyses examined the relationships of the RFI, PFI, and their interaction on measures of cigarette, alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, and hard drug use cross-sectionally in late adolescence and later in young adulthood. These same variables were used to predict alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine abuse 8 years later. Vulnerability as measured by the RFI, PFI, and their interaction was highly associated with drug use in adolescence, moderately associated with certain types of drug use in young adulthood, and strongly associated with heightened drug problems in adulthood.