Birthplace May Affect Risk of Substance Abuse for Hispanics

As the Hispanic American population grows in the United States, it is important for policymakers to understand the healthcare needs for the group. It is especially critical to provide adequate facilities for the treatment of substance abuse for every segment of the population.

Each year the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration gathers, organizes and publishes data about substance abuse in the U.S. They investigate many separate demographics within the American population to provide important information about the substance abuse treatment needs in the U.S.

A report recently released by SAMHSA details the challenges specific to the Hispanic-American population group, with the purpose of providing adequate assistance for those struggling with substance abuse. One important finding of the report highlights an elevated risk of substance abuse for children of Hispanic-American adults who were born outside the U.S., compared to their parents.

The report details its findings, showing that 37.2 percent of Hispanic-Americans who immigrated to the U.S. indicated that they had participated in binge drinking during the past month. By comparison, the rate for those born in the U.S. for binge drinking in the last month was 57.7 percent.

The trend holds steady for drug abuse. The rate among U.S. born Hispanic-American adults was 11.3 percent for past-month illicit drug use. Foreign born Hispanic-Americans had a rate of 3 percent for past-month illicit drug use.

When Hispanic-American levels of substance abuse are compared to national statistics, however, substance abuse levels are encouraging. Hispanic adults in the U.S. have a lower level of current alcohol use at 46.1 percent than the national average, which is 55.2 percent.

Hispanic-Americans also have lower levels of illicit drug use compared to the general population in the U.S. Hispanic-Americans report a rate of 6.6 percent, compared to 7.9 percent of the national population participating in illicit drug use.

There is one area in which Hispanic-Americans report substance abuse at a slightly higher level than the national average. When asked about binge drinking, 26.3 percent reported having participated in the past month, compared to 24.5 percent.

The findings discussed here are very broad. For instance, there is great variation between the specific subgroups categorized as Hispanic-American. For instance, Spanish-Americans have a past-month alcohol use rate that is well above the national average.

The information detailing the substance abuse treatment needs for Hispanic-Americans will be helpful in determining what services are still required. Further study may be necessary to understand the pressures that are associated with being born inside the U.S. versus immigrating, so that prevention efforts might be organized.