Cultural influences and alcoholism: a study of Puerto Ricans

Some reports in the literature suggest a correlation between acceptance of traditional Latin American family values and alcoholism in Hispanic males. To examine the effects of traditional values on alcoholism, the authors surveyed 151 lower-class Puerto Rican alcoholics (126 males and 25 females), using a scale to measure Hispanic-American family values. The scores of these patients were compared with those of 116 lower-class Puerto Rican nonalcoholics (45 males and 71 females). A path model was constructed with alcoholism as the dependent variable, the Traditional Scale scores as an intervening variable, and demographic variables which may also influence alcoholism (such as sex, age, years of residence in the United States, education, and English ability) as independent variables. Overall, the findings show that traditionalism is a significant predictor of alcoholism, both directly and as an intervening variable in the relation between sex and alcoholism, and education and alcoholism. However, sex and years of residence in the United States were both stronger direct predictors of alcoholism than was traditionalism. These results support the hypothesis that the manifestations of alcoholism in lower-class Puerto Ricans are influenced by cultural attitudes.