Acculturation and attitudes toward appropriate drinking among U.S. Hispanics

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between attitudes toward appropriate drinking and acculturation among U.S. Hispanics. Respondents comprise a multi-stage probability sample of the U.S. Hispanic population. A total of 1453 individuals were interviewed. The overall response rate is 72%. In accordance with previous findings establishing a positive association between drinking and acculturation, it was hypothesized that the more acculturated individuals would have more liberal attitudes, allowing more drinking especially for women. The results support this hypothesis. Generally, respondents who are more acculturated have more liberal attitudes independent of sex and age. However, these results are more consistent when attitudes refer to specific gender and age groups than when attitudes refer to specific drinking contexts.