Acculturation, hazardous drinking and depressive symptomatology among Hispanics enrolled in a clinical trial

Abstract

Background: Among Hispanics in USA, lower acculturation level has been found to be protective against alcohol abuse and depression. However, this relationship may not hold within at-risk samples. The prevalence and co-occurrence of hazardous drinking and depressive symptoms and their relationship to acculturation were examined among Hispanics enrolled in a study to reduce heavy drinking. At enrolment, all the participants reported past-month heavy drinking (one or more occasions of >4/5 drinks for females/males, and average weekly consumption >7/14 drinks per week). We explored whether gender moderated the effects of acculturation on hazardous drinking and depressive symptoms. Methods: Participants (N = 100) completed measures at baseline. Results: Eighty-nine percent of participants met criteria for hazardous alcohol use as assessed by the AUDIT and of those, 55% (n = 49) also reported elevated depressive symptoms. Of those who reported elevated depressive symptoms, nearly all (94%) met AUDIT criteria for hazardous drinking. Acculturation was not related to hazardous drinking or depressive symptoms in the full sample. Highly acculturated women reported more hazardous drinking than less acculturated women. Acculturation was not associated with hazardous drinking in men, but less acculturated men reported higher levels of depression than highly acculturated men. Discussion: Depression should be assessed in alcohol interventions for Hispanics. Alcohol interventions should be tailored for acculturation level and gender to improve relevance and efficacy. Clinical Trial Registration #NCT01996280.

• Acculturation
• depressive symptoms
• gender
• hazardous drinking
• hispanic

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest. This study was funded in part by an unrestricted grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (Grant No. R01021136), and by a Senior Research Career Scientist award from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The terms of the awards assure that the sponsors had no post-award scientific input or other influence with respect to the study s design, analysis, interpretation, or preparation of the article. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.