Psychosocial mediators of the impact of acculturation on adolescent substance abuse.

To identify and evaluate socio-psychological factors that are associated with differences in substance abuse prevalence between non-acculturated and acculturated Florida youth, we employed t-test and logistic regression to analyze self-reported data from 63,000 middle and high school student participants in the 2004 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey. Questionnaire items covered socio-demographics, tobacco, alcohol, and illicit substance use; and perceptions and attitudes toward drug use. The outcome variables were past 30 day use of "any illicit drug." The key independent variable was language used at home (English/Another language). The covariates were 32 socio-psychological factors that are considered risk and protective factors for adolescent drug abuse. Findings support the growing body of evidence suggesting that acculturation status is a strong predictor of substance use among adolescents. This effect may be mediated principally through the family and peer/individual psychosocial domains. The findings may have important implications for the design and implementation of drug prevention programs targeting teenagers.