Alcohol use among Latino migrant workers in South Florida
Introduction
An extensive literature exists on patterns of alcohol use among Latinos in the United States (SAMHSA, 2009). Research indicates that drinking patterns among Latinos are different from those of other ethnic and racial groups. Overall, Latinos are less likely to drink at all than are non-Latino whites (NLWs). In fact, Latinos have higher rates of abstinence from alcohol compared to NLWs (25.7% vs. 13.4%). However, Latinos who choose to drink are more likely to consume higher volumes of alcohol than NLWs (NIAAA, 2013). Latino adults have a slightly higher level of binge drinking than NLWs (26.3% vs. 24.5%) and a slightly higher past-year need for alcohol treatment (8.7% vs. 8.1%; NIAAA, 2013).
While most of the scientific literature recognizes a great deal of diversity among Latinos in the US, many studies treat the Latino population as a homogeneous group. This grouping of Latinos without recognition of their diversity is a limitation that, in many instances, may be explained by methodological reasons such as the lack of large enough samples in most studies to accommodate different nationalities (Caetano and Galvan, 2001). One key limitation when treating Latinos in the US as a homogeneous group resides in the key differences observed based on their nationality and—for those born in a country other than the US—length of stay in the United States. Numerous studies refer to the term “immigrant health paradox” to explain the epidemiological finding that immigrant Latino populations are healthier compared to Latinos born in the US (Franzini et al., 2001). A few studies have corroborated this finding in regards to alcohol use among Latinos and reported that choice of English as first language and high acculturation are predictors of high levels of alcohol use among Latinos in the US (Pearson et al., 2005). However, very little research has solely been devoted to the study of drinking patterns among Latino migrant workers (LMWs). As Worby and Organista (2007) describe in their comprehensive review of the literature on alcohol use among male Mexican and Central American im/migrant laborers—which constitute a large majority of LMWs in the US—drinking patterns in the Latino migrant worker community remain poorly documented. Alcohol use by LMWs has been mostly described anecdotally within the framework of more general and often ethnographic descriptions of the lives of migrants. Counter to anecdotal evidence that describes overall alcohol use among Latino migrant workers as a serious problem (Garcia and Gondolf, 2004), recent studies indicate that there is substantial variation in the frequency and intensity that Latino migrant workers consume alcohol.
The US Department of Labor (2013) defines a migrant worker as “seasonal farmworker who had to travel to do the farmwork so that he/she was unable to return to his/her permanent residence within the same date.” The composition of the migrant labor force in the United States has changed profoundly over the last three decades. Only 10% of the farmworker labor force was foreign born as of 1989. As of 2012, the National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH) (NCFH, 2012) reports that over three million migrant and seasonal farmworkers live and work in the US and that 72% of them are foreign born. According to the NCFH, 95% of foreign born farmworkers were born in Mexico, 4% were born in Central American countries, and 1% was born elsewhere (NCFH, 2012). In light of the increased vulnerability of migrant populations (Shtarkshall and Soskolne, 2000, Soskolne and Shtarkshall, 2002) and the significant likelihood that segments within this population will engage in alcohol abuse (Alaniz, 1994, Worby and Organista, 2007, Rhodes et al., 2009, Worby et al., 2014), information about the prevalence and association of alcohol use and abuse and related risk behaviors among LMWs in the US is needed.
The association of alcohol use with increased sexual risk behaviors has been well documented in the literature (Halpern-Felshera et al., 1996, Thompson et al., 2005). Existing data suggest that the acute effects of alcohol intoxication cause individuals to engage in high risk sexual risks that otherwise would not be taken (Cooper, 2002). Alcohol use occurs in association with sexual behavior for a variety of social, cultural, and other reasons. Different studies (Cook and Clark, 2005, Rhodes et al., 2009, Worby et al., 2014) suggest that that some factors associated with the migrant worker's lifestyle such as harsh labor, insalubrious living conditions, discrimination, and loneliness may increase alcohol consumption and related high risk sexual behaviors. However, little exploration and conceptualization of such pathways is offered. As Worby and Organista (2007) indicate, several studies suggest that alcohol consumption could play a mediating role in increasing the risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. For instance, LMWs often engage in sexual activities with commercial sex workers they meet in local bars (known in Spanish as cantinas). Alternatively, commercial sex workers will solicit LMWs at labor camps and other locations where LMWs congregate, often on paydays and in areas where migrants cash their paychecks (Parrado et al., 2004, Fernandez et al., 2004, Shedlin et al., 2005).
As a result of the sparse literature on the drinking patterns of LMWs in the US, little is known about the risk factors associated with variation in alcohol use and related risk behaviors among LMWs. In his seminal case-study on the Mexican-American experience with alcohol, Trotter (1985) suggests that—compared to Midwest and West Coast migrant workers—the reasons why heavy alcohol use was more common among migrant workers in the East Coast migrant stream may be linked to migration patterns. East Coast migrant workers are more likely to come to the United States unaccompanied and do not benefit from the restraining effect that spouses and children seem to have on alcohol abuse patterns. In non-migrant Latino samples, other sociodemographic and psychological factors such as age, acculturation, low education, and depression (Caetano and Galvan, 2001, Finch et al., 2003, Wallisch and Spence, 2006) have been found to be associated with greater risk for alcohol abuse.
In summary, very little is known about alcohol use and related risk factors among LMWs. The lack of actual evidence is at odds with general beliefs that heavy drinking is a common practice in this population. The goal of the present study is to expand the limited literature examining alcohol use among a cohort of Latino migrant workers in South Florida in order to provide evidence needed for effective planning and development of alcohol abuse prevention intervention programs. Specifically, the goals of this study are to: (1) estimate the prevalence of alcohol use and abuse; (2) describe drinking patterns; and (3) describe the association of a set of sociodemographic and psychological variables with frequent heavy drinking, alcohol abuse/dependence, and unprotected sex under the influence of alcohol.
Section snippets
Sampling and data collection
The present cross-sectional investigation is based on the baseline data collected as part of a randomized controlled trial entitled “HIV Risk Reduction in High Risk Hispanic Migrant Workers in South Florida,” which employed a community-based participatory research approach (Sanchez et al., 2013). From November, 2008 through March, 2010, outreach workers screened 407 LMWs who were recruited by means of a stratified network-based (snowball) sampling design (Watters and Biernacki, 1989) from
Demographic characteristics
As shown in Table 1, slightly more than half (54.3%) of the study participants were men and 45.7% were women with an average age of 37.2 (S.D. = 5.8). Mexico was the country of origin of almost half (43.2%) of the participants, followed by Guatemala (20.1%) and Honduras (10.1%). More than one-quarter (27.7%) of the participants did not have any formal education and only a very small proportion (3.6%) had completed 12 or more years of formal education. More than half (56.8%) of the participants
Discussion
This study sought to expand the limited literature examining alcohol use among Latino migrant workers in the United States by examining self-reported alcohol drinking behaviors among a heterogeneous cohort of LMWs in South Florida. The results of this study illustrate considerable variation in Latino migrant workers use of alcohol. Greater than one in three LMWs (35.6%) reported completely abstaining from alcohol and about one in four LMWs reported drinking weekly or less than weekly. These
Role of funding source
Nothing declared.
Conflict of interest
No conflict declared.
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (Award # P20MD002288). The authors thank the Latino migrant worker community in Homestead and Florida City, South Florida. This study could not have been conducted without their generous support and collaboration.
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