Social Processes Underlying Acculturation: A Study of Drinking Behavior among Immigrant Latinos in the Northeast United States

Abstract

Study Goals

To identify social processes that underlie the relationship of acculturation and heavy drinking behavior among Latinos who have immigrated to the Northeast United States of America (USA).

Method

Community-based recruitment strategies were used to identify 36 Latinos who reported heavy drinking. Participants were 48% female, 23 to 56 years of age, and were from South or Central America (39%) and the Caribbean (24%). Six focus groups were audiotaped and transcribed.

Results

Content analyses indicated that the social context of drinking is different in the participants’ countries of origin and in the United States. In Latin America, alcohol consumption was part of everyday living (being with friends and family). Nostalgia and isolation reflected some of the reasons for drinking in the USA. Results suggest that drinking in the Northeastern United States (US) is related to Latinos’ adaptation to a new sociocultural environment. Knowledge of the shifting social contexts of drinking can inform health interventions.

Keywords

Latino alcohol consumption acculturation focus groups

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