Age-varying association between discrimination, childhood family support, and substance use disorders among Latin American immigrants in the United States.

OBJECTIVES

The cultural stress theory posits that immigrants experience a constellation of cultural stressors such as discrimination that could exacerbate alcohol- and other substance-related problems. Drawing on cultural stress theory, this study investigated the age-varying association between past-year discrimination and substance use disorders (SUDs) among Latin American immigrants aged 18-60 and whether childhood family support moderated the above association.

METHOD: We used data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III) among adults aged 18-60 who identified as a Latin American immigrant (N = 3,049; 48% female).

RESULTS

Time-varying effect models (TVEMs) revealed that experiencing past-year discrimination was associated with greater odds of having a SUD during young and middle adulthood for Latin American immigrants. Furthermore, for immigrants with lower childhood family support, discrimination was associated with SUD risk in young and middle adulthood.

CONCLUSION

The present study documents that past-year discrimination was linked to greater SUD risk during young and middle adulthood. Childhood family support may serve as a protective factor in the association between discrimination and risk for SUD among Latin American immigrants. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).