Development and evaluation of a measure of drinking behavior in response to acculturation stressors for Latinx adults entering alcohol treatment

Abstract

IntroductionThe current study presents the development of a scale to assess drinking behavior in response to acculturation and immigration stress. MethodsThe study administered the 19-item Measure of Immigration and Acculturation Stressors (MIAS) and a parallel assessment, a Measure of Drinking in Response to Immigration and Acculturation Stressors (MDRIAS), at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months in a completed randomized controlled trial testing culturally adapted motivational interviewing to reduce heavy drinking and related problems in Latinx individuals who met criteria for heavy drinking (n = 149). ResultsExploratory factor analysis of the MIAS showed best fit for a four-factor solution (Relational Stress, Perceived Ethnic Discrimination, Attenuated Aspirations, and Sense of Alienation) with 15 items. The MIAS subscales and the four corresponding MDRIAS subscales had good reliability (i.e., internal consistency, intercorrelations, and test-retest) and criterion-related validity (i.e., concurrent, convergent, and predictive). ConclusionsThese findings suggest that clinicians and researchers can use the MIAS to assess different types of immigration and acculturation stressors for Latinx adults and can use the MDRIAS to assess drinking in response to those experiences. The MIAS and MDRIAS could be used in the future to adapt alcohol interventions to relevant stressors that contribute to Latinx adults' alcohol use.