Sangre Buena, Sangre Mala: a qualitative examination of familismo and aging –Mexican-American men’s heroin use

ABSTRACT

This study explored the impact of the Hispanic cultural value of familismo (a focus on, and passionate commitment to, one’s family) on the injection heroin use patterns of a cohort of aging Mexican-American men. An ecological ethnographic approach was applied to 26 in-depth interviews of these men in recovery to determine the influence of familismo on initiation and cessation of heroin use. Iterative analysis revealed that in regard to interpersonal relationships with men, familismo functioned as a risk factor for heroin initiation and continued use. Conversely familismo functioned dialectically as both a risk factor for continued use, and protective factor contributing to recovery, in regard to relationships with women. A better understanding of the gendered impact of familismo on substance use patterns can provide valuable insight to inform the development of culturally grounded or adapted interventions for Hispanics/Latinos.

KEYWORDS:

• Cultural values
• familismo
• heroin use
• Hispanic/Latino
• injection drug use

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse R24DA019798-08.