Christopher P Salas-Wright1, Michael G Vaughn2, Trenette C Goings3, Sehun Oh4, Flavio Marsiglia5, Mariana Cohen6, Rachel John6, Patricia Andrade7, Seth Schwartz8. 1. School of Social Work, Boston University, 264 Bay State Rd, Boston, MA 02215, United States; Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Prevention Science & Community Health, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States. 2. School of Social Work, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, United States; Graduate School of Social Welfare, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. 3. School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States. 4. School of Social Work, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States. 5. School of Social Work, Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, United States. 6. School of Social Work, Boston University, 264 Bay State Rd, Boston, MA 02215, United States. 7. Raices Venezolanas, Doral, FL, United States. 8. Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Prevention Science & Community Health, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: It is estimated that more than 4 million Venezuelans have left their country as a direct result of their nation's widespread social and economic challenges. Although recent research identifies Venezuela as one of the nations with the highest rates of harmful alcohol consumption in the Americas, no research has been conducted on alcohol use among Venezuelan youth in diaspora. METHODS: Data was collected between November 2018 and June 2019 from 373 Venezuelan immigrant youth ages 12-17 in the United States. The prevalence of past-month and lifetime alcohol use among Venezuelan youth is compared to that of other Hispanic and immigrant youth from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), and the Construyendo Oportunidades Para Adolecentes Latinos (COPAL) study using independent sample t tests. RESULTS: The prevalence of past-month and lifetime alcohol use was significantly higher among Venezuelan immigrant youth (15% and 52%, respectively) compared to other Hispanic (9% and 28%) and immigrant (4.5% and 28%) youth in the NSDUH, and youth ages 14-17 in the COPAL study (4.0% and 22%). Among Venezuelan youth reporting alcohol use initiation, 1.5% of youth ages 12-14 and 19% ages 15-17 report lifetime alcohol intoxication. DISCUSSION: Although preliminary, results indicate that a disconcerting proportion of Venezuelan crisis migrant youth in the US report lifetime alcohol initiation and past-month use. These findings suggest the importance of future research to examine the prevalence and correlates of alcohol use in this population using recruitment and sampling methods that will allow for population-level estimates.
BACKGROUND: It is estimated that more than 4 million Venezuelans have left their country as a direct result of their nation's widespread social and economic challenges. Although recent research identifies Venezuela as one of the nations with the highest rates of harmful alcohol consumption in the Americas, no research has been conducted on alcohol use among Venezuelan youth in diaspora. METHODS: Data was collected between November 2018 and June 2019 from 373 Venezuelan immigrant youth ages 12-17 in the United States. The prevalence of past-month and lifetime alcohol use among Venezuelan youth is compared to that of other Hispanic and immigrant youth from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), and the Construyendo Oportunidades Para Adolecentes Latinos (COPAL) study using independent sample t tests. RESULTS: The prevalence of past-month and lifetime alcohol use was significantly higher among Venezuelan immigrant youth (15% and 52%, respectively) compared to other Hispanic (9% and 28%) and immigrant (4.5% and 28%) youth in the NSDUH, and youth ages 14-17 in the COPAL study (4.0% and 22%). Among Venezuelan youth reporting alcohol use initiation, 1.5% of youth ages 12-14 and 19% ages 15-17 report lifetime alcohol intoxication. DISCUSSION: Although preliminary, results indicate that a disconcerting proportion of Venezuelan crisis migrant youth in the US report lifetime alcohol initiation and past-month use. These findings suggest the importance of future research to examine the prevalence and correlates of alcohol use in this population using recruitment and sampling methods that will allow for population-level estimates.
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