Maternal and peer influences on drinking among Latino college students

Abstract

Previous research on college drinking has paid little attention to Latino students. Social development models (Catalano, Hawkins, & Miller, 1992) suggest that protective influences in one domain (e.g., mothers) can offset negative influences from other domains (e.g., peers) though this possibility has not been explored with respect to Latino college student drinking. The present study had two aims: 1) to determine whether four specific maternal influences (monitoring, positive communication, permissiveness, and modeling) and peer descriptive norms were associated with college drinking and consequences among Latino students, and 2) to determine whether maternal influences moderated the effect of peer norms on college drinking and consequences. A sample of 362 first-year students (69.9% female) completed an online assessment regarding their mothers' monitoring, positive communication, permissiveness, and modeling, peer descriptive norms, and drinking and related consequences. Main effects and two-way interactions (mother×peer) were assessed using separate hierarchical regression models for three separate outcomes: peak drinking, weekly drinking, and alcohol-related consequences. Maternal permissiveness and peer descriptive norms were positively associated with drinking and consequences. Maternal communication was negatively associated with consequences. Findings indicate that previously identified maternal and peer influences are also relevant for Latino students and highlight future directions that would address the dearth of research in this area.

Keywords: College drinking; Latino college students; Maternal influences; Peer norms.