Helping Your Child Be Drug Free

Scope of the Problem/Background

Substance abuse is a problem among all students. Statistics show that Hispanic youth are particularly vulnerable:

• Alcohol: This is the main substance used by Hispanic youth. By eighth grade, Hispanics report higher drinking rates than other groups.
• Most alarming of all, the data indicate that among eighth-grade students surveyed, Hispanics have the highest rates of use of a number of illegal drugs, including marijuana, crack, cocaine, heroin, and tranquilizers.
• Additional facts related to substance use in the general Hispanic community point to the need for parents to become involved in supporting their children in staying drug free. The school dropout rate is higher for Hispanic students than for other racial/ethnic groups. In some communities, half of the youth drop out of high school, and substance use is related to school dropout rates and poor performance in school.¹

Risk Factors/Protective Factors

Research has shown that in order to prevent substance use and abuse, two things must happen:

1. Factors that increase the risk of developing the problem must be identified, and
2. Ways to reduce the impact of those factors must be developed.

Factors that help to prevent substance use and abuse are called protective factors and factors that contribute to, or increase the risk of developing use and abuse problems are called risk factors. The key to health and healthy families is increasing the protective factors while decreasing the risk factors.

Caring and involved parents are one of the most powerful protective factors identified in the research. The Hispanic culture provides many of the protective factors that can help prevent substance use and abuse, such as the culture's strong sense of family.

Other protective factors include extended family networks, "simpatia," commitment, and a strong female presence in families. Also, Hispanics generally have a number of healthy beliefs, clear standards, and individual characteristics, which can help their children. Among these are a sense spirituality or faith, respect, trust, dignity, "confianza", emphasis on personal interaction and interpersonal skills, and a high value on and concern for children. (SAMHSA 2002)

In general, today's youth experience high levels of personal and social stress and conflict. However, the data show that compared to other youth, Hispanic youth face additional risk factors.

Some of these factors include: family conflict among caregivers and children, particularly if youth assimilate quicker than their parents or caregivers, which result in conflict between generations, high rates of mobility, exposure to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use in families and communities. Other risk factors include barriers to employment, communication problems due to lack of proficient English skills, and discrimination and the stress of differing experiences in adapting to the American culture.

The diagram below from SAMHSA's Toolkit for Hispanic/Latino Community Groups (2002) summarizes the substance use and abuse risk and protective factors for Hispanic youth. Knowing these will help you to better understand them and help you to identify those factors in your own family and community.

Protective Factors and Risk Factors for Substance Use

Individual Risk Characteristics

• Friends who engage in the problem behavior
• Social isolation
• Lowered self-esteem
• Cultural conflict
• Racial and ethnic discrimination

Community Risk Factors

• Availability and alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs at social functions
• Frequent family moves/migration
• Deteriorating and crime-ridden communities
• Barriers to employment
• Unemployment/underemployment
• Inaccessible upward mobility
• Inadequate housing

Protective Factors

Bonding

• Familialismo
• Multigenerational kinship network
• Ethnic pride
• "Simpatía"
• Strong female presence

Healthy Beliefs and Clear Standards

• Spiritualism
• Respect (hierarchical based on age)
• Trust
• "Confianza"
• Concern for children

Individual Characteristics

• Dignity
• "Personalismo"
• Strong female presence

Family risk factors

• Parental attitudes and involvement in drug use, crime and violence
• Failure of parents to monitor their children
• Parental absenteeism
• Single parent without support
• Lack of family rituals
• Differing generational levels of assimilation

School risk factors

• New values system
• Language barriers
• Social isolation
• Low achievement expectations
• Low educational levels

¹Johnston, L.D., O'Malley, P.M. & Bachman, J.G. (2001) Monitoring the Future: National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2000. Volume 1: Secondary School Students (NIH Publication No. 01-4924), Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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