Effects of Acculturation and the Development of Drug Abuse in the Hispanic Community

Abstract

As of 2019, there are approximately 18.5% of Americans that identify as Hispanic or Latino (The Census Bureau, 2019). Additionally, as of 2019, over 10,000,000 LatinX individuals have immigrated to the United States, and the numbers continue to grow (Israel & Batalova, 2020). When immigrating to a different country there can be a myriad of challenges that one may face, and one may be obligated to want to fit in for example, dressing a certain way, eating different food than one is used to and engaging in risky activities because one’s friends want to. The current meta analysis examines acculturation and the effects the process has on LatinX individuals in the creation of substance abuse and whether protective factors may prevent or alleviate the creation of substance abuse. Research shows that young LatinX may be more likely to develop substance abuse due to the difficulties and stresses involved with the process of acculturation than LatinX adults (Blanco, Morcillo, Alegría, Dedios, Fernández -Navarro, Regincos & Wang, 2012; Caetano, Ramisetty-Mikler & Rodriguez, 2008; Guilamo-Ramos, Jaccard, Johansson & Turrisi, 2004; Lara, M., Gamboa, C., Kahramanian, M. I., Morales, L. S., & Bautista, D. E., 2005; Savage & Mezuk, 2014). The results from these studies support previous findings that suggest these protective factors may prevent or alleviate the factors that may lead to the creation of substance abuse in Hispanic communities (Blanco et al., 2012; Burnett Zeigler, 2012; Gil, Wagner & Vega, 2000; Mossakowski, K.N., 2003).