Acculturation and alcohol consumption among Mexican Americans: a three-generation study.

Data from a three-generation study of Mexican Americans conducted in the San Antonio, Texas area are utilized to examine the influence of acculturation into the larger society on alcohol consumption. Acculturation was not related to alcohol consumption in the older generation. In the middle generation, it was related to lower alcohol consumption among men, as well as among women. In the younger generation, acculturation was related to more drinking among women, but not among men. Within-family analysis showed that the alcohol consumption of members of the younger generation was associated with the consumption of their parents, particularly in the case of younger women.