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ABSTRACT
Little is known about the pre- and postimmigration drinking and drunk- and drugged-driving behavior of Latino immigrants. Despite showing risky drinking behaviors, many recent immigrants of low socioeconomic status (SES) do not drive while impaired by alcohol (DWI) due largely to limited access to a vehicle. This effort examines the DWI and driving while impaired by drugs (DWID) behaviors of Latino immigrants who have access to a vehicle. Data came from an ongoing longitudinal sample of Latino immigrants to Miami-Dade County, Florida. Bivariate analyses and logistic regression were applied. Preimmigration DWI and DWID was the best predictor of postimmigration DWI and DWID. Future interventions should make efforts to (a) identify immigrants who had DWI and DWID in their country of origin and (b) design and deliver specific and culturally relevant messages to persuade them not to engage in DWI and DWID after immigration.
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Notes on contributors
Eduardo Romano
Eduardo Romano is a Senior Research Scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE). He has been a Research Scientist at PIRE for 18 years. He has conducted research and published on the risks associated with impaired driving among the general population of drivers, and particularly among women and minorities. His research has been funded largely by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in particular the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), as well as by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), among others. At PIRE, Dr. Romano is currently a member of its Board of Directors (since 2013), PIRE’s Institutional Review Board (since 2008), and PIRE’s “Red Team” (Reviewer of PIRE grants before submission). Outside PIRE, he is an adjunct professor at the School of Public Health, University of Maryland; a member of the Transportation Research Board’s Committee on Women’s Issues in Transportation (ABE70); and a friend of the Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Transportation (ANB50).
Mariana Sánchez
Mariana Sanchez holds a doctoral degree in social welfare from Florida International University. She has over 17 years of experience in conducting behavioral longitudinal research with Latinos. Currently, she holds a postdoctoral research associate position at the Center for Research on U.S. Latino HIV/AIDS & Drug Abuse (CRUSADA) at Florida International University. As part of a multidisciplinary team of researchers, she investigates the influence of sociocultural determinants on the substance use and HIV risk behaviors of Latinos. Specifically, her research interests include the impact of religion and spirituality on the health behaviors of Latinos.
Mario De La Rosa
Mario de la Rosa, PhD, is a professor of social work at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work at Florida FIU. He is an internationally known researcher who has published more than 70 scholarly publications focusing on Latino substance abuse, substance use as a risk factor for HIV/AIDS, violence, delinquency, and cross-cultural issues. He has conducted research documenting the influence of familial factors on the substance abuse and HIV risk behaviors of adult Latina immigrants and the impact that preimmigration factors have on the use of alcohol among recent young-adult Latino immigrants. Over the course of his academic career, he has received more than $15 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and has served on numerous NIH scientific review committees and peer-review scientific editorial boards. He is a past member of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) National Advisory Council.
Benjamin Ertman
Benjamin Ertman is an undergraduate student at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. He is majoring in psychology and Chinese. He spent the summer of 2016 as an intern at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), Calverton Center, where he was tasked to conduct basic research (data manipulation and initial tabulations) necessary for this effort. Mr. Ertman will graduate in 2018. He plans to become a research assistant for a couple years before attending graduate school after his graduation.