Culturally specific youth substance abuse resistance skills: Applicability across the U.S.-Mexico Border

This article reports on the prevalence and frequency of use of a set of drug-resistance strategies among a sample of Mexican adolescents. The keepin' it REAL (refuse, explain, avoid, and leave) strategies are part of a model drug-prevention intervention program originally developed by and for youth in the United States. The present study tests the applicability of these drug-resistance strategies among Mexican youth from Monterrey, Mexico. The sample consisted of 327 adolescents, mostly aged 15 and 16, attending two public high schools. Findings indicate that most Mexican adolescents in this sample utilized each of the REAL strategies to deal with offers of alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana, and other types of strategies were used only in combination with the REAL strategies. Use of the strategies varied by gender, age, and level of exposure to offers of substances, but there were no differences by socioeconomic status or academic performance.