Influences of School Latino Composition and Linguistic Acculturation on a Prevention Program for Youth

Abstract

This study examined how ethnic composition and linguistic acculturation within schools affected the efficacy of a youth substance use prevention model program. Data come from a randomized trial of the keepin' it REAL program, using a predominantly Mexican American sample of middle school students in Phoenix, Arizona. Schools were randomly assigned to a control group or to one of three culturally tailored intervention versions. We hypothesized that school ethnic and linguistic acculturation composition (percent Latino, percent non-English speaking at home) and individual level of linguistic acculturation jointly would moderate the efficacy of the prevention program, as indicated by students' alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use. Using multilevel linear modeling and multiple imputation techniques to manage clustered data and attrition, results showed that desired program effects varied by the linguistic acculturation level of the school, the program version, and individual acculturation level. The Latino intervention version was more efficacious in schools with larger percentages of non-English speaking families, but only among less linguistically acculturated Latino students. There were no significant school level program effects connected to the percentage of Latino students at school, the other versions of the program, or among more linguistically acculturated students.