TY - JOUR
T1 - The Impact of Ethnoracial Appearance on Substance Use in Mexican Heritage Adolescents in the Southwest United States
AU - Ayers, Stephanie L.
AU - Kulis, Stephen
AU - Marsiglia, Flavio
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The data for this study were collected with support from National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse grant R01 DA005629. Data analysis was supported by National Institutes of Health/National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities grant P20MD002316 (PI: Marsiglia).
PY - 2013/5
Y1 - 2013/5
N2 - Latinos are a multiracial ethnic group, and as such, within-group differences in ethnoracial appearance deserve to be studied and understood within the racialized American context and in connection to specific health and mental health outcomes. This article presents the findings of a study conducted with middle school Mexican heritage students (n = 1,150) in Phoenix, Arizona, and tested how non-White majority ethnoracial appearance predicted adolescent substance use, and whether the relationship differed by generation status and strength of ethnic identity. Logistic regression results revealed that generation status and ethnic identity moderate the relationship between ethnoracial appearance and substance use among Mexican heritage youth. The odds of using substances were significantly higher for third-generation adolescents who reported a less European appearance, but significantly lower for second-generation youth who were more indigenous in appearance. These findings indicate that a stronger indigenous ethnic appearance can be both a protective and risk factor for substance use for adolescents. Implications are discussed in terms of incorporating ethnoracial appearance content in prevention interventions for Mexican heritage and other Latino adolescents.
AB - Latinos are a multiracial ethnic group, and as such, within-group differences in ethnoracial appearance deserve to be studied and understood within the racialized American context and in connection to specific health and mental health outcomes. This article presents the findings of a study conducted with middle school Mexican heritage students (n = 1,150) in Phoenix, Arizona, and tested how non-White majority ethnoracial appearance predicted adolescent substance use, and whether the relationship differed by generation status and strength of ethnic identity. Logistic regression results revealed that generation status and ethnic identity moderate the relationship between ethnoracial appearance and substance use among Mexican heritage youth. The odds of using substances were significantly higher for third-generation adolescents who reported a less European appearance, but significantly lower for second-generation youth who were more indigenous in appearance. These findings indicate that a stronger indigenous ethnic appearance can be both a protective and risk factor for substance use for adolescents. Implications are discussed in terms of incorporating ethnoracial appearance content in prevention interventions for Mexican heritage and other Latino adolescents.
KW - Mexican/Mexican American
KW - adolescents
KW - ethnoracial appearance
KW - substance use
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U2 - 10.1177/0739986312467940
DO - 10.1177/0739986312467940
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84877320862
SN - 0739-9863
VL - 35
SP - 227
EP - 240
JO - Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences
JF - Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences
IS - 2
ER -