Thinking about drinking: Acculturation and alcohol-related cognitions among college-bound Latinas

Abstract

Objective: This study examined acculturation with positive alcohol expectancies (PAE) and alcohol use intentions among college-bound Latinas using a bidimensional (ie U.S. acculturation/enculturation) and bidomain (ie behaviors/values) acculturation framework. Participants: A total of 298 Latina young adults between 18 and 20 years old were included in this analysis. Methods: Data were collected the summer before participants began college for the first time. We used an online survey to assess acculturation, PAE, and alcohol use expectancies. Results: Path analyses showed that U.S. acculturation values were related to more PAE and alcohol use intentions. U.S. acculturation behaviors were related to more alcohol use intentions, and the pathway was moderated by PAE. There was also an interaction between U.S. acculturation and enculturation behaviors predicting alcohol use intentions. Conclusion: This study sheds light on how acculturating Latina young women think about alcohol use prior to beginning college, which is an opportune window for targeted prevention programs.

Keywords:

• Acculturation
• alcohol
• college
• Hispanic
• Latina

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Byron L. Zamboanga for his input on early drafts of this manuscript.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Additional information

Funding

The contribution of the first author was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Award Number F31AA026477 and Award Number K01AA029473. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.