Drinking among U.S. Hispanics: A Multivariate Analysis of Alcohol Consumption Patterns

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Abstract
This article explores the relationship between various demographic measures and alcohol consumption patterns among U.S. Hispanics, using data collected as part of the 5-year project, Preventing Alcohol Trauma: A Community Trial, funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. In particular, it addresses the impact of gender, age, and other exogenous measures on four drinking pattern measures: drinker status (current drinker versus abstainer), drinking frequency, average drinks per occasion, and variance in drinking patterns. The article applies a series of models originally developed by Gruenewald and colleagues concerning a subsample of the project’s phone-survey Hispanic subsample. Results indicate that although consumption patterns for U.S. Hispanics are similar to those in the general population, they differ in a number of important respects. Specifically, being divorced or separated, as opposed to single, appeared to elevate drinking levels. Additionally, males in their 30s, as opposed to in their 20s, appeared at greatest risk for problematic consumption patterns. The implications of these differences for the health of U.S. Hispanics are noted.