Survey Finds Drug and Alcohol Use Lower among Hispanic Americans

Hispanic-American adults use drugs and alcohol less frequently than the general population, according to data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

HealthDay reported recently that the SAMHSA survey data show 55 percent of adults in the general population use alcohol and 8 percent use drugs compared with 46 percent and 6-1/2 percent rates of use, respectively, among Hispanic Americans.

Furthermore, substance use tends to vary among Hispanic-American subgroups: for example, 13 percent of adults of Spanish descent reported past-month illicit drug use compared with only 4 percent of adults of Dominican descent. Also, substance use rates were much higher among U.S.-born Hispanic Americans than among those born outside the U.S.

SAMHSA administrator Pamela S. Hyde said the findings may indicate that as ethnic and immigrant populations become more acculturated into our national culture, they tend to develop many of the same behavioral health challenges faced by the general population.

The full report, Substance Use Among Hispanic Adults, is based on data drawn from the 2004 to 2008 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, involving responses from 227,791 persons aged 18 or older, including 31,848 Hispanic-American adults. The full report is available online.