The role of immigration age on alcohol and drug use among border and non-border Mexican Americans.

Abstract

To determine the age of immigration at which the marked increase in risk for alcohol- and drug-use problems in adulthood is observed among Mexican American adults residing in 2 distinct contexts: the U.S.-Mexico border, and cities not proximal to the border. We used 2 samples of Mexican American adults: specifically, 1,307 who resided along the U.S.-Mexico border, and 1,288 non-border adults who were interviewed as a part of the 2006 Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey study. Survey logistic and Poisson regression methods were used to examine how immigration age during adolescence is related to alcohol- and drug-use behavior in adulthood. We found that participants who immigrate to the United States prior to age 14 have qualitatively different alcohol- and drug-related outcomes compared to those who immigrate later in life. Adults who immigrated at younger ages have alcohol- and drug-use patterns similar to those who were U.S.-born. Adults who immigrated at young ages and reside distal from the U.S.-Mexico border are at greater risk for alcohol and drug use than those who live in border contexts. Immigration from Mexico to the U.S. before age 14 results in alcohol- and drug-related behavior that mirrors the behavior of U.S.-born residents, and the alcohol- and drug-use effects were more pronounced among adults who did not reside proximal to the U.S.-Mexico border.