Alcohol use among Hispanic college students along the US/Mexico border

The trend of alcohol use among college students has been shown to vary by ethnicity and has been linked to acculturation among Hispanics. Consistent findings indicate that males consume alcohol more frequently and in greater quantities compared to females.

This study investigated the drinking habits of Hispanic college students living in the border region of South Texas. The study evaluated the influence of acculturation on alcohol consumption among Hispanic males and females.

Two hundred and ninety-six Hispanic students participated in this study. The participants reported their drinking behaviors over the past 30 days and completed a measure of acculturation.

Fifty-nine percent of the participants reported consuming alcohol in the past 30 days with more males than females reporting alcohol consumption. Logistic regression analysis indicated that age and gender, and not acculturation or enculturation, predicted drinking in the last 30 days. Among drinkers, the regression analyses indicated that gender and lower levels of Anglo orientation were linked to increased alcohol consumption, suggesting that Hispanics who were less oriented toward the Anglo culture consumed more alcohol than those more oriented toward the Anglo culture. Among drinkers, males and females did not differ in frequency or binge drinking, but males consumed more alcohol than females.

Previous research indicates that greater acculturation is linked to greater consumption of alcohol; however, we found it to be associated with less consumption. The findings regarding gender represent some consistencies with previous research but there are some inconsistencies as well. These results suggest that less acculturated Hispanic male college students residing in the border region may be at a higher risk of alcohol abuse than Hispanic female students and more acculturated male students.