Alcohol Use Severity Among Hispanic Emerging Adults in Higher Education: Understanding the Effect of Cultural Congruity

Abstract

Background: Identifying and understanding determinants of alcohol use behavior among Hispanic college students is an increasingly important public health issue, particularly during emerging adulthood. Studies examining ethnocultural determinants of alcohol use behavior among Hispanic college students have focused on direct associations with cultural orientation (e.g., acculturation and enculturation); yet there is a need for research that accounts for the complex interplay of other culturally relevant sociocultural factors. Objectives: This study examined associations of behavioral acculturation, behavioral enculturation, and cultural congruity (perception of cultural fit between the values of the academic environment and the student's personal values) with alcohol use severity (AUS); and tested if gender moderated those associations. Methods: A hierarchical linear regression and moderation analysis were conducted on a sample of 167 Hispanic emerging adults (ages 18–25) enrolled in college. Results: All predictor variables entered in the regression model accounted for 20.9% of the variance in AUS. After controlling for demographic variables and depressive symptoms, behavioral acculturation and enculturation did not have a statistically significant association with AUS. Further, gender did not moderate either of these associations. Conversely, greater cultural congruity was associated with lower reports of AUS. A moderation analysis suggested that cultural congruity predicted lower reports of AUS among men, but not among women. Conclusions: This was the first known study to examine the association of cultural congruity with alcohol use. Findings highlight the value of examining contextual factors of culture and moving beyond reductive measures of cultural orientation.

Keywords :

• cultural congruity
• acculturation
• alcohol
• Hispanic
• emerging adults
• college students

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

This study was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute U54CA153505, R25T CA57730, K01 CA157689, K01 CA16067; the National Institute on Drug Abuse R25DA026401; and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality T32 HS017586-05. The authors have no conflicts of interest pertaining to this work.

THE AUTHORS

Miguel Ángel Cano, Ph.D., M.P.H. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Florida International University. Dr. Cano's research interests include ethnocultural and social determinants of mental health and health behaviors associated with chronic disease among Latino populations; syndemic interactions of psychiatric symptoms/disorders and health behavior; and the development of evidence-based health promotion interventions for underserved racial/ethnic groups.

Ellen L. Vaughan, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology at Indiana University. Dr. Vaughan's research interests include the prevention of problematic alcohol and drug use among Latino adolescents and emerging adults.

Marcel A. de Dios, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Disparities Research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. de Dios conducts research focused on developing and testing smoking cessation interventions for ethnically diverse and vulnerable subpopulations, particularly among Latinos.

Yessenia Castro, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Castro conducts disparities-related research among minority and underserved populations, with an emphasis on smoking cessation among Latinos.

Angelica M. Roncancio, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at The University of Texas School of Public Health. Dr. Roncancio's research interests include the role of culture in health behaviors among Latino populations; reducing health disparities among Latinos; and the development of culturally sensitive, theory-based interventions for Latino populations.

Lizette Ojeda, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology at Texas A&M University. Dr. Ojeda's research focuses on the intersection of masculinity and ethnocultural factors in predicting Latino men's mental health.

GLOSSARY

• Acculturation: A bidimensional process that encompasses (1) changes in enthocultural values, practices, and identities as a result of ongoing contact with a new receiving culture; and (2) the degree to which the person maintains his or her heritage culture.

• Enculturation: The process of socialization (or re-socialization) to maintain the norms of the heritage culture.

• Cultural congruity: The perception of cultural fit between the values of the academic institution and the student's personal values.