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Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 5/2013

01-10-2013 | Original Paper

Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Immigrant Paradox in Substance Use

Author: Hoan N. Bui

Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health | Issue 5/2013

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Abstract

Using data from the National Longitudinal Studies of Adolescent Health, the present study examines self-reported substance use (cigarettes, tobacco, and marijuana) among youth from different immigration generations to determine the immigrant paradox in substance use for different racial and ethnic groups as well as factors contributing to the relationship between immigration and substance use. Results of data analysis indicate the immigrant paradox in substance use among non-Hispanic Whites, Asians, and Hispanics, but not among non-Hispanic Blacks. The study also shows that factors explaining the immigrant paradox in substance use vary with racial and ethnic groups, but English use at home, friends’ cigarette and marijuana use appear to be the most important mediating factors. Findings from the study suggest that effective interventions in youth substance use require an understanding of adaptation patterns in different racial and ethnic groups, so that factors associated with adaptation problems experienced by particular groups will be appropriately addressed.
Footnotes
1
Due to a small number of students using marijuana (n = 2,461) and a relatively small number of student using tobacco (n = 4,549), a combination of students using either tobacco or marijuana provides a larger number of cases (n = 5,741) necessary for exploring generational differences in substance use in separate racial and ethnic subgroups.
 
2
The program SPSS with complex sampling option lacks a multiple imputation procedure that can take into account sampling errors caused by the complex sampling design. STATA and MPLUS offer full-information maximum likelihood estimation accounting for the complex sampling design.
 
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Metadata
Title
Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Immigrant Paradox in Substance Use
Author
Hoan N. Bui
Publication date
01-10-2013
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health / Issue 5/2013
Print ISSN: 1557-1912
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1920
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-012-9670-y

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