A growing body of research has pointed to the importance of environmental influences on adolescent use and abuse of alcoholic beverages. Factors in the immediate social environment of the adolescent, especially family and peer drinking and non-drinking characteristics, have been shown to be the most influential forces conditioning drinking practices among adolescents. The relative significance of specific environmental factors has been found to vary for particular populations. But little research has been done on the role of family and peer factors among Hispanic or Hispanic/Puerto Rican adolescents, or even on the prevalence, style, and consequences of drinking in this group, despite the fact that the limited available evidence suggests that this population is greatly at risk for the development of alcohol-related health and social problems. The proposed research seeks to examine drinking behavior and its environmental correlates among Puerto Rican adolescents.
Specific aims are to: a) determine dominant features of adolescent drinking behavior; b) identify the major family and peer influences on adolescent alcohol use and abuse; c) assess the service needs of adolescents with alcohol-related problems; and d) use this information in developing a model for a culturally appropriate/age appropriate intervention and/or education program. The study will interview a random sample of 210 Puerto Ricans and their mothers (stratified by family type, age and sex), using a battery of psychosocial instruments, including the alcohol involvement scale, family environment scale and attitudes toward alcoholism scale. Results will be analyzed vis-a-vis intra-group variation in drinking patterns and associated family and peer factors. Research findings will contribute to the understanding of drinking patterns and problems of Puerto Rican adolescents, the general theoretical literature on environmental influences on adolescent drinking, and the available methodology for examining environmental influences, and will assist in the development of an appropriate intervention model for an underserved, at-risk population.
| Singer, M (1993) Knowledge for use: anthropology and community-centered substance abuse research. Soc Sci Med 37:15-25 |
| Singer, M; Valentin, F; Baer, H et al. (1992) Why does Juan Garcia have a drinking problem? The perspective of critical medical anthropology. Med Anthropol 14:77-108 |
