The Influence of Acculturative Discrepancies on Negative Affect, Drinking to Cope, and Drinking Behavior in Latinas
type: CreativeWork
description: Studies have regularly found that acculturation disproportionality places Latinx women, as compared to Latinx men, at an increased risk for maladaptive drinking behaviors, such as increased drinking frequency, binge drinking, and more frequent episodes of intoxication. While several etiological explanations have been put forward, the relation between acculturation and drinking behaviors in Latinas is not yet fully understood. Thus, the present study sought to evaluate whether acculturative discrepancies, a term used in this study to capture discrepancies in self-perception that may arise as a result of the acculturation process, were predictive of drinking behavior in Latinas. In line with self-discrepancy theory (SDT), two categories of acculturative discrepancies are of interest: 1) acculturative self-discrepancies, which describe a discrepancy between perceptions of one's current acculturation level vs where one ideally wishes to be and 2) acculturative social discrepancies, which describe a discrepancy between perceptions of one's current acculturation level versus the obligations one perceives from friends and parents. More specifically, the present study examined whether acculturative discrepancies were predictive of depressive and anxiety-related symptoms, maladaptive coping mechanisms, and increased alcohol consumption among a sample of 104 college-aged Latinas. Participants were recruited from a research participation subject pool of a large NC university, and completed an online survey regarding acculturative discrepancies, acculturative stress, negative affect, drinking to cope motivation, and drinking behavior. The majority of participants were highly acculturated, 2nd generation immigrants of Mexican American and Puerto Rican background who spoke both English and Spanish. Overall, participants indicated that their current acculturation level was closer to that of their friends than that of their parents, and, notably, this perceived acculturation gap be…
abstract: Studies have regularly found that acculturation disproportionality places Latinx women, as compared to Latinx men, at an increased risk for maladaptive drinking behaviors, such as increased drinking frequency, binge drinking, and more frequent episodes of intoxication. While several etiological explanations have been put forward, the relation between acculturation and drinking behaviors in Latinas is not yet fully understood. Thus, the present study sought to evaluate whether acculturative discrepancies, a term used in this study to capture discrepancies in self-perception that may arise as a result of the acculturation process, were predictive of drinking behavior in Latinas. In line with self-discrepancy theory (SDT), two categories of acculturative discrepancies are of interest: 1) acculturative self-discrepancies, which describe a discrepancy between perceptions of one's current acculturation level vs where one ideally wishes to be and 2) acculturative social discrepancies, which describe a discrepancy between perceptions of one's current acculturation level versus the obligations one perceives from friends and parents. More specifically, the present study examined whether acculturative discrepancies were predictive of depressive and anxiety-related symptoms, maladaptive coping mechanisms, and increased alcohol consumption among a sample of 104 college-aged Latinas. Participants were recruited from a research participation subject pool of a large NC university, and completed an online survey regarding acculturative discrepancies, acculturative stress, negative affect, drinking to cope motivation, and drinking behavior. The majority of participants were highly acculturated, 2nd generation immigrants of Mexican American and Puerto Rican background who spoke both English and Spanish. Overall, participants indicated that their current acculturation level was closer to that of their friends than that of their parents, and, notably, this perceived acculturation gap be…
author: Ruiz, Michelle
language: en
keywords: Acculturative Discrepancies, Latinas, Hispanic women
date published: 2021-11-29
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:13:37Z
provider: East Carolina University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: East Carolina University

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/10342/9718