Citation
Tam, C.C.; Lui, C.K.; Li, L.; & Cook, W.K. (2022). Time-varying effect of nativity status on heavy drinking from ages 14-41 in Hispanic/Latinx and Asian populations in the US. 45th Annual Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) Scientific Meeting. Orlando, FL.Abstract
Introduction: Extant research shows people born in the United States (US) report heavier drinking patterns than their foreign-born counterparts. However, nativity status has been examined as a time-invariant factor in health risk studies when its effect may actually vary across developmental periods. Elucidating when drinking differences by nativity status are greatest will support developmentally-appropriate targeted interventions to mitigate heavy drinking and harms among US-born populations. This study investigates the time-varying effect of nativity status (US- and foreign-born) on heavy episodic drinking (HED) in a US sample of Latinos and Asians.Methods: We used a nationally representative sample of Latinos (n = 3,501) and Asians (n = 1,097) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, Waves 1–5. We estimated time-varying effect modeling (TVEM) to examine associations between nativity status and HED across ages 12–41, which cannot be done in traditional parametric-based trajectory analysis. The outcome is past-year frequent HED (≥12 occasions of 5+ alcoholic drinks; sex-specific 5+/4+ in Waves 4–5). Given differences in drinking trajectories between Latinos and Asians, analyses were stratified by race/ethnicity with nativity status as a time-varying covariate. Time-invariant covariates included ethnicity, gender, W1 family income, W4 education, W5 marital status, and W5 parental status.
Results: Preliminary findings showed associations between nativity status and HED varied across ages 12–41 for both Latinos and Asians. Differences in HED between US- and foreign-born Latinos steadily increased starting at age 14 through 25, with US-born Latinos having the greatest odds of HED at age 20.3 relative to foreign-born Latinos (OR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.61–2.71). US-born Latinos reported lower HED odds than foreign-born Latinos in the 30s. For Asians, the US-born had consistently greater HED odds than the foreign-born over the lifecourse. These differences varied with steady declines through age 16.5 (OR = 1.44, CI = 1.17–1.77) and then increases from ages 18 through 39.5, with US-born Asians having the greatest odds of HED at age 31 (OR = 4.35, CI = 3.10–6.10) than foreign-born Asians.
Conclusions: The associations between nativity status and HED varied across age for both Latinos and Asians. Identifying the critical periods when US nativity is likely to have the greatest effect on HED may aid prevention efforts to address heavy drinking and subsequent harms in US-born subpopulations.
URL
https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.14833Reference Type
Conference proceedingBook Title
45th Annual Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) Scientific MeetingAuthor(s)
Tam, C.C.Lui, C.K.
Li, L.
Cook, W.K.