Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #118100

Gilbert Saint-Jean, MD, MPH, PhD and Lee A. Crandall, PhD. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami, 1801 NW 9th Avenue, Room # 212C, Locator D-93, Miami, FL 33136, 305-243-6571, gsaint@med.miami.edu

To identify and evaluate the socio-psychological factors that are associated with differences in use prevalence of alcohol and marijuana between non-acculturated and acculturated Florida youth, we employed cross-tabulations and logistic regression to analyze self-reported data from the 63,000 participants in the 2004 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS). FYSAS is administered annually to public middle and high school students in 64 of Florida's 67 counties. Questionnaire items cover socio-demographics, tobacco, alcohol, and illicit substance (ATOD) use; perceptions and attitudes toward drug use; and delinquent behaviors. The outcome variables for this study were past 30 day use of alcohol and past 30 day use of marijuana. The key independent variable was language used at home. Of the 32 socio-psychological factors included as covariates in the analysis we found that 13 had a significant (p<0.05) and independent impact on differences in use of both drugs. They included perceived availability of drugs, poor family discipline, family conflict, parental attitudes favorable toward ATOD use and antisocial behavior, social skills, friends' delinquent behavior and use of drugs, favorable attitudes toward antisocial behavior and ATOD use, low perceived risk of drug use, early initiation of drug use, and sensation seeking. Additionally, community rewards for prosocial involvement, community disorganization, laws and norms favorable to drug use, family opportunities for prosocial involvement, and belief in moral order had an independent impact on alcohol use only. Low neighborhood attachment, poor family supervision, family history of antisocial behavior, and rebelliousness had an independent impact on marijuana use only.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the presentation the participant should be able to

• Identify the socio-psychological factors that may play a role on the impact of acculturation on adolescent substance abuse prevalence.
• Describe and apply the statistical methods used in this study to conduct studies on similar populations.
• Better understand the psychological pathway of the relationship between substance use and acculturation.

Keywords: Adolescent Health, Drug Use

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation