Acculturation and Drug Use Among Dually Diagnosed Hispanic Adolescents

SUMMARY

With drug abuse among Hispanic youth on the rise, examining cultural factors such as acculturation may provide insight into understanding and addressing this problem. This study examined the relationship between acculturation and severity of drug use among a sample of severely impaired Hispanic adolescents referred for residential substance abuse treatment. As recent studies with clinical samples have found, it was hypothesized that lower levels of acculturation would be associated with higher levels of substance use. Results indicated that youth born outside the United States reported greater frequency of drug use at intake into treatment than those born in the United States, supporting the hypothesis.

Key Words:

• Hispanics
• acculturation
• adolescents
• substance use/abuse
• drug use/abuse
• comorbidity