A narrative review of acculturation dimensions and their relationships to alcohol and other drug use in immigrant youth.

Caroline Ng Tseung-Wong, Justine Dandy, Amanda George, Vilma Palacios, Byron L. Zamboanga

Research output: Contribution to conference (non-published works)Abstractpeer-review

Abstract

Background: Little is known about alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among immigrant youth in Australia. It is possible that they perceive AOD use as one way of fitting into mainstream Australian society. We reviewed the international literature on acculturation and AOD use among immigrant youth samples and examined the applicability of the findings to AOD use among immigrant youth in Australia.

Method: We used Medline, PsyInfo, Web of Science and Google Scholar to examine peer-reviewed English-language publication from 2000 to October 2022.

Key findings/Results: The final review consisted of 163 papers, predominantly empirical reports. Most studies were conducted in Western, industrialised countries, mainly the United States (n = 131, 80.36%) and with immigrants from Latin/Hispanic backgrounds (n = 99). Most research was cross-sectional (n =107) with 41 longitudinal studies. Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis were the substances of primary interest; frequency and amount of AOD consumption were the main outcome variables. Measures of acculturation included established scales and proxy measures like language use, generation, or nativity status. Immigrant youth generally reported lower AOD use compared to native born youth, and later generations of immigrant youth reported higher AOD use compared to first generations (the ‘immigrant paradox’). There were mixed findings concerning the association between acculturation to mainstream cultural norms and AOD use.

Conclusions: Exposure to more lenient AOD norms compared with their countries of origin may result in increased immigrant youth AOD use over time and with successive generations. The limited research on Australian immigrant focused on adults and were mainly qualitative in research design.

Implications for Practice or Policy: Quantitative data with immigrant youth in Australia to map their acculturation preferences and their associations to AOD use is needed as a first step to understand the role of ‘fitting in’ to immigrant youth’s AOD attitudes and use in Australia.
Original languageEnglish
Pages1-1
Number of pages1
Publication statusPublished - 2024
EventAustralasian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs Conference -
Duration: 31 Oct 20243 Nov 2024
https://www.apsadconference.com.au/

Conference

ConferenceAustralasian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs Conference
Abbreviated titleAPSAD 2024
Period31/10/243/11/24
Internet address

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