English use/proficiency, ethnic discrimination, and alcohol use disorder in Hispanic immigrants

Acculturation-related measures, often based on language, have traditionally been identified as predictors of drinking outcomes for US Hispanics. However, a sole focus on acculturation may obscure the role of societal factors such as discrimination. The present study evaluated ethnic discrimination as a mediator in the relationship between English use/proficiency and alcohol use disorder in US Hispanic immigrants.

The study examined data from the 2222 self-identified Hispanic immigrant adults in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III who reported alcohol use within the past year. The study utilized multivariable binomial logistic regression analyses to test relationships between English use/proficiency and perceived ethnic discrimination; English use/proficiency and DSM-5 alcohol use disorder; ethnic discrimination and DSM-5 alcohol use disorder. Statistical mediation examined ethnic discrimination as a mediator in the relationship between English use/proficiency and alcohol use disorder.

Perceived ethnic discrimination was significantly associated with alcohol use disorder in men (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.99; 95% CI [confidence interval], 1.40-2.83), yet not women (AOR 1.32; 95% CI, 0.71-2.44), in a regression model that also included English use/proficiency. Perceived ethnic discrimination also acted as a partial mediator between English use/proficiency and DSM-5 alcohol use disorder for male, yet not female, Hispanic immigrants.

Findings show some support for the notion that experiences of ethnic discrimination, which may accompany the process of acculturation, partially explain deteriorating drinking outcomes in Hispanic immigrant men adapting to life in the US.