This proposal requests support of a U.S./Mexico Conference on Alcohol-Related Issues to be held in Los Angeles, CA, July 23-25, 1987. The proposed conference, the first of its kind between the two nations, will bring together research findings in the areas of alcohol epidemiology, culture and alcohol use, and alcoholism prevention and treatment as these issues relate to Mexican and Mexican American populations. Structured by a binational interdisciplinary steering committee and sponsored by the Spanish Speaking Mental Health Research Center (SSMHRC) at the University of California at Los Angeles, the conference is targeted for an audience of 100 researchers and high-level program administrators of alcohol-related services. The overall goals of the conference are (1) to desseminate information on alcohol-related patterns and problems in the Mexican and Mexican American populations to scholars and service providers who can maximize their utilization, and (2) provide an opportunity for researchers in both nations to develop communication networks for future collaboration and information exchange. The projected publication of the conference proceedings will include ten state-of-the-art papers, discussants' commentary and participants' recommendations relative to critical research needs and appropriate applications of the data made available at the conference. This project will make an important contribution to the field of alcohol studies in general and to Hispanic alcohol studies in particular. It will provide a richer understanding of the relationship between the alcohol practices an American ethnic group and the practices of its nation of cultural origin. In the narrower Hispanic context, it will yield critical insights into issues surrounding the especially high alcohol problem rates of Mexican populations, providing direction for ameliorating those problems.
