Increasing Assimilation Associated With Slower Reductions in Alcohol Use Among Latina Young Adults Soon After...

We investigated how rates of change in acculturation processes correlated with changes in alcohol use frequency and quantity among young adult Latina women after they immigrated to the United States.

Using univariate and parallel process latent growth modeling, we examined 3-year trajectories of alcohol frequency and quantity and two types of acculturation processes among 530 foreign-born, young adult Latina women (ages 18-23) during their initial years in the United States. The acculturation processes were enculturation (the retention or adoption of Latinx cultural beliefs, values, and behaviors) and assimilation (the adoption of mainstream U.S. cultural beliefs, values, and behaviors).

We observed significant increases in assimilation and enculturation and significant declines in alcohol use frequency and quantity over the 3-year period. A significant longitudinal bivariate association was found between slope estimates of assimilation and alcohol use quantity over time when accounting for months in the United States and immigration status. Women who exhibited higher increases in assimilation levels also exhibited less of a decline in alcohol use quantity than their peers over the 3-year period. In addition, women who resided longer in the United States at the first assessment than their peers indicated greater declines in alcohol use over the 3-year period.

Findings support a social norms model that posits that increased alcohol use among young adult Latina women is attributable to assimilation into the more permissive U.S. drinking culture after immigration. Prevention interventions are encouraged to address this relationship during young Latina women's initial years in the United States.