Examining the Relationship of Gender and Pre-Migration Acculturation On Drug Offers Among Adolescents in Mexico

Purpose: This study examined whether higher levels of pre-migration acculturation were associated with higher rates of drug offers among adolescent males and females living in Mexico. Studies examining the relationship between acculturation and substance use among Mexican heritage adolescents living in the U.S., have found that higher levels of acculturation are associated with higher rates of substance use (Kulis, Yabiku, Marsiglia, Nieri, & Crossman, 2007). Although previous studies have found that adolescent males in Mexico are more than twice as likely as adolescent females to receive drug offers (Medina-Mora & Rojas Guiot, 2003), proximity to the U.S. and exposure to U.S. culture may begin an acculturation process among adolescents while still living in Mexico. This pre-migration acculturation may affect the rates of drug offers to adolescent females. Chun and Akutsu (2003) argued that studies should account for acculturation that occurs prior to migration. This study attempts to fill the gap in the literature regarding the relationship of gender and pre-migration acculturation on drug offers among adolescents in Mexico.

Methods: The data for this study were drawn from a sample of 980 adolescent students surveyed in Tijuana, Mexico in February of 2009. There were 495 (50.3%) males and 485 (49.3%) females, with a mean age of 16. The majority of the mothers (74.2%) and fathers (68.6%) of participants in this study had less than a high school education. Over 80% of the participants indicated that their average grades in school were 80 or higher (equivalent to a B or higher). Almost a quarter of the participants (22.3%) indicated that their family's economic situation was “poor” or “very poor.” Fourteen of the 33 items from the Bicultural Involvement Questionnaire (Szapocznik, Kurtines, & Fernandez, 1980) were used to create a pre-acculturation scale (á= .853) for this study. The dependent variables were comprised of past 30 day offers of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and other drugs (0= no offers, 6= more than 10 offers).

Results: Multivariate regressions were run controlling for age, average grades in school, socioeconomic status, and mother's and father's levels of education. The results indicated that higher pre-acculturation levels significantly predicted more offers of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and other drugs. Being female was a significant predictor of fewer offers of cigarettes, marijuana, and other drugs. Being female, however, was not a significant predictor of fewer offers of alcohol.

Implications: The results of this study indicate that pre-migration acculturation is related to drug offers among adolescents living in Mexico. Although being female was associated with fewer drug offers for cigarettes, marijuana, and other drugs, alcohol offers were not significantly different among males and females in this study. This may indicate a greater acceptance of female alcohol consumption among adolescents living along the U.S./Mexico border. Social workers in Mexico need to be aware of the potential impact pre-migration acculturation can have on drug offers among Mexican adolescents and use this information to develop culturally appropriate substance abuse prevention programs that emphasize cultural and familial protective factors, as well as culturally appropriate resistance strategies.