Acculturation, drinking and social settings among U.S. Hispanics

Abstract

This paper reports survey data on drinking in different social settings and the acculturation of Hispanics to U.S. society. Respondents comprise a household probability sample of U.S. Hispanics. The acculturation scale resulted from the factor analysis of respondents' answer to questions on daily use and ability to speak, read and write English and Spanish; preference for media (books, radio TV, music) in English or in Spanish; ethnicity of people they interact with in their church, parties and neighborhood now and when growing up, as well as questions about values thought to be characteristic of the Hispanic way of life. Seven different social settings are considered: when having an evening meal at a restaurant; when having lunch at a restaurant; when attending clubs or organizational meetings; in bars, taverns or cocktail lounges; at parties; during evenings at home; and when friends are visiting. Analysis of these data confirm the hypothesis that Hispanics who are more acculturated go more frequently and drink more frequently than less acculturated Hispanics in a number of social settings. The effect of acculturation is independent of income and work status.