Family and peer influences on Mexican American adolescent alcohol use: moderating effects of school adjustment

Abstract

The goal of this investigation was to test a theoretical substance use model on a sample of Mexican American adolescents. The model evaluated the influence of family, peers, and school adjustment on alcohol consumption. Data for this study was obtained from waves one and two of an NIAAA funded, three-year longitudinal study of 9th through 12th grade students. Students were from a sampling frame of communities within the Southwestern states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and California that have at least a 10% Mexican American population. The sample of communities was stratified into three population levels: 1) 2,500 - 10,000; 2) 10,001 - 50,000; and 3) 50,001+. Twenty-one high schools were surveyed in both waves one and two of data collection. Thirty-Five percent of all enrolled students completed the survey at Time 1. Those with complete data at both Time 1 and Time 2 were included in the final sample. Five hundred and Fifty-four Mexican American students comprised the Final sample; 217 were male and 337 were female. A structural equation model was evaluated using EQS. The moderating effects of school adjustment on the socialization effects of parents and peers on alcohol use were assessed by comparing models by gender and by level of school adjustment. Findings demonstrated that Mexican American youth with high versus low school adjustment had less alcohol involvement. Among males and females, family sanctions against alcohol use had both direct and indirect influence on alcohol involvement. Moreover, peer influence remained constant across level of school adjustment and gender. Examining data across time revealed alcohol involvement at Time 1 significantly influenced peer alcohol associations, but not family sanctions, at Time 2. Finally, model differences were apparent by gender. These results are discussed with respect to future directions, both research recommendations and clinical implications.