Immigration Stress, Exposure to Traumatic Life Experiences, and Problem Drinking Among First-Generation Immigrant Latino Couples

This study explored the relationship of each partner's immigration stress and exposure to traumatic life experiences, with both his or her own problem drinking and the partner's problem drinking. The study was guided by Bodenmann's systemic-transactional stress model and used secondary data collected in 2009 from 104 Latino immigrant couples living in the Washington DC area. Results from the path model analysis indicated that even though men's overall immigration stress was not significantly related to their own problem drinking, emotional dimensions of immigration stress were in a positive direction. Men's overall immigration stress was negatively related to their partners' problem drinking. The women's overall immigration stress was significantly and positively related to their own problem drinking, particularly for acculturation related aspects and stress from missing family, but it was not significantly related to their partner's problem drinking. Additionally, men's exposure to traumatic life experiences was significantly, positively associated with problem drinking but it was not significantly associated with their own overall immigration stress. For women, results were different as exposure to traumatic life experiences was not associated with their own problem drinking but it was significantly and positively related to their overall immigration stress in the hypothesized direction. Limitations, research, and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Human Development

Department dc:contributor.department

Human Development

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Huerta, Monica

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Falconier, Mariana K.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Huebner, Angela J.
• Hendrickson, Edward L.

• immigration
• stress
• Latinos
• trauma
• drinking

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:2122

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/54576