Hispanic youth and alcohol use: Effects of perceived harm, ease of acess and parent/peer disapproval of substance use

Background: A paucity of research currently exists regarding Hispanic youth and recent alcohol use and episodic heavy drinking. Therefore, this study was undertaken to identify factors associated with recent alcohol use (use in the past 30 days) and episodic heavy drinking (often/a lot) among Hispanic youth. Methods: A total of 946 Hispanic students in 7th - 12th grades completed a two-page survey on ATOD use. The survey was tested for validity and reliability prior to survey administration and resulted in correlation coefficients for stability reliability and internal consistency reliability > .81. Results: Results indicated that 24.5% used alcohol in the past month and 15.2% frequently engaged in episodic heavy drinking. Logistic regression analyses indicated that students at highest risk for recent alcohol use and frequent episodic heavy drinking were those who felt use was not harmful/somewhat harmful, felt alcohol access was fairly easy/very easy, and had parents/peers who disapproved of use. Conclusions: This study found that perceived harm, ease of access and parent/peer disapproval of use were variables associated with recent alcohol use and episodic heavy drinking among Hispanic youth. Findings may be beneficial to health professionals in developing programs targeting Hispanic youth. Future studies should investigate specific activities within the family, school, and community that deter alcohol use among Hispanic youth.