Mexican-American Youth Drug Use and Acculturation: A Note on the Mitigating Effects of Contextual Dynamics

Abstract

This study reexamines the relationship between acculturation and illicit drug use among a sample of Mexican-American adolescents in South Texas (n=3, 186). Logistic regression was used to test the relationship between marijuana and cocaine use and two acculturation scales while controlling for structural properties and social dynamics characterizing use environment. Findings suggest that acculturation correlates with increased use of both substances when operationalized by language but not when measurement is based in social interaction. Gang membership was found to be a more explanative indicator of drug use than acculturation, suggesting that Mexican-American drug use is better understood through utilization of models factoring delinquent peer effects.