TY - JOUR
T1 - Substance use, generation and time in the United States
T2 - The modifying role of gender for immigrant urban adolescents
AU - Almeida, Joanna
AU - Johnson, Renee M.
AU - Matsumoto, Atsushi
AU - Godette, Dionne C.
N1 - Funding Information:
The Boston Youth Survey 2008 would not have been possible without the participation of the faculty, staff, administrators and students of Boston Public Schools. The authors appreciate the work of the Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center team, including David Hemenway, Deb Azrael, Mary Vrinoitis, Beth Molnar and all those who assisted with the Boston Youth Survey. The Boston Youth Survey 2008 was funded by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( U49-CE00740 ) to the Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center (HYVPC), and in collaboration with the Boston Public Health Commission (Barbara Ferrer, Director), Boston's Office of Human Services (Larry Mayes, Chief), Boston Public Schools (Carol Johnson, Superintendent) and the Office of Mayor Thomas M. Menino . The content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC, the NIH, or the City of Boston. Support for this publication was provided by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (1L40 HD066672-01) to Dr. Joanna Almeida. Support for this publication was provided by grants to Dr. Renee M. Johnson from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA, R03-DA025823 ; K01-DA031738 ).
PY - 2012/12
Y1 - 2012/12
N2 - Although immigrant youth have lower rates of substance use than US born youth, whether substance use varies by generation and time in the US is unclear. This study examines adolescent alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use by generation/time in US (i.e., first generation, in US ≤4 years; first generation, in US >4 years; second generation; and third generation or higher). Data come from a 2008 survey of Boston, Massachusetts public high school students (n = 1485). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the association between generation/time in the US and risk of past 30-day substance use, adjusting for age and race/ethnicity. To determine whether the associations differed by gender, we fit gender stratified regression models. The prevalence of substance use was lowest among immigrants who had been in the US ≤4 years. Among girls, generation/time in US was not related to alcohol use or to tobacco use. For boys, being an immigrant regardless of number of years in the US, as well as second generation was associated with a significantly lower risk of tobacco use, compared to third generation youth. Additionally, immigrant boys who had been in the US ≤4 years had a significantly lower risk of alcohol use. Among both boys and girls, all first and second generation youth were significantly less likely to report marijuana use compared to third generation youth. Immigrant youth have a lower risk of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use relative to US born youth; however the protective effect of foreign nativity on alcohol was eroded much more quickly than for tobacco or marijuana. The effects of generation and time in US on substance use differ by gender and the particular substance.
AB - Although immigrant youth have lower rates of substance use than US born youth, whether substance use varies by generation and time in the US is unclear. This study examines adolescent alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use by generation/time in US (i.e., first generation, in US ≤4 years; first generation, in US >4 years; second generation; and third generation or higher). Data come from a 2008 survey of Boston, Massachusetts public high school students (n = 1485). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the association between generation/time in the US and risk of past 30-day substance use, adjusting for age and race/ethnicity. To determine whether the associations differed by gender, we fit gender stratified regression models. The prevalence of substance use was lowest among immigrants who had been in the US ≤4 years. Among girls, generation/time in US was not related to alcohol use or to tobacco use. For boys, being an immigrant regardless of number of years in the US, as well as second generation was associated with a significantly lower risk of tobacco use, compared to third generation youth. Additionally, immigrant boys who had been in the US ≤4 years had a significantly lower risk of alcohol use. Among both boys and girls, all first and second generation youth were significantly less likely to report marijuana use compared to third generation youth. Immigrant youth have a lower risk of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use relative to US born youth; however the protective effect of foreign nativity on alcohol was eroded much more quickly than for tobacco or marijuana. The effects of generation and time in US on substance use differ by gender and the particular substance.
KW - Effect modification
KW - Gender
KW - Immigrants
KW - Substance use
KW - Time in USA
KW - USA
KW - Youth
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U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.05.016
DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.05.016
M3 - Article
C2 - 22727651
AN - SCOPUS:84869495330
SN - 0277-9536
VL - 75
SP - 2069
EP - 2075
JO - Social Science and Medicine
JF - Social Science and Medicine
IS - 12
ER -