EthnicMajority

(Los Angeles Times) A survey of students at 16 California middle schools shows Hispanic kids are more likely to smoke, drink or use marijuana than their peers in other ethnic or racial groups. In probing for the reasons for substance use, researchers found that Hispanic youths may lack confidence in their ability to say “no” to peers.

The study, conducted by Regina A. Shih and her colleagues at Rand Corp., was comprised of 5,500 seventh- and eighth-grade students who were surveyed about their drug use and factors influencing drug use. Overall, 22% of the students said they had ever used alcohol, 10% said they had smoked at some point and 7% admitted to smoking marijuana. But Hispanic youths were more likely to have used these substances compared with other groups. Among Hispanic students, 26% had tried alcohol, 12% had smoked cigarettes and 9% used marijuana.

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(USA Today) Hispanic-American adults have lower rates of alcohol and illicit drug use than the national averages, a federal government study has found.

The research revealed that 46.1% of Hispanic-American adults drink alcohol and 6.6% use illicit drugs, compared with national average rates of 55.2% and 7.9%, respectively.

However, Hispanic-American adults have a slightly higher level of binge drinking (26.3 percent versus 24.5%) and a slightly higher past-year need for alcohol treatment (8.7 percent versus 8.1%), according to a news release from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The study also found significant differences in rates of adult substance use among various Hispanic-American groups. For example, the level of past month alcohol use among Spanish Americans is above the national average and 50% higher than among Dominican Americans (60.8 percent versus 40.3%, respectively). And the rate of current illicit drug use among Spanish Americans is nearly three times higher than the level among Dominican Americans (13.1 percent versus 3.9%, respectively).

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(Orlando Sentinel) Hispanic-American adults drink less than the average American (46.1 percent versus 55.2 percent), according to a new survey.

The group also use drugs less (6.6 versus 7.9 percent) but are slightly more likely to binge drink (26.3 versus 24.5 percent).

Substance use is lower in Hispanics even when income is taken into account.

Hispanic-Americans in poverty drink less (31.1 versus 39.8 percent), do drugs less (5.9 percent versus 11.7), and binge drink less (21.3 versus 25.2) than other Americans in poverty, according to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

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