Knowledge about health risks and drinking behavior among Hispanic women who are or have been of childbearing age

In this study, 99 Mexican American women colonia residents who are or had been of childbearing age were assessed for English language skills, alcohol use, beliefs about health risks related to drinking, and awareness of warning labels on alcohol beverage containers. English language skills significantly predicted participants' ability to remember health warnings on beverage containers whereas greater awareness of nutritional information on labels was associated with lesser amounts of alcohol consumed. Beliefs that drinking during pregnancy is helpful and not associated with liver and cognitive problems were significantly associated with higher alcohol consumption, and beliefs that drinking helps when pregnant along with a reported history of drinking during a previous pregnancy significantly predicted self-reported drinking during a most recent pregnancy. The study represents a first step toward understanding how beliefs about drinking risks may be associated with alcohol use among Hispanic women

Alcohol use and comorbid anxiety, traumatic stress, and hopelessness among Hispanics

Little is known about the comorbidity of alcohol use, anxiety, hopelessness, and trauma among Mexican Americans, especially those living in impoverished and often isolated communities or neighborhoods (colonias in Spanish) along the U.S.–Mexico border that may be particularly vulnerable due to stressful living conditions. The current study utilized a community participatory model to investigate the relationships of alcohol use, acculturation, anxiety, hopelessness, and trauma in 100 Mexican origin colonia residents. Significant comorbidity was expected and that anxiety, hopelessness, and post-traumatic symptoms were hypothesized to be associated with the severity of the alcohol use disorders of participants. Participants who met DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence reported significantly more symptoms of anxiety and post-traumatic stress, and symptoms of anxiety were significantly associated with alcohol use disorders. This study provides evidence of the need for further investigation of stress, trauma, anxiety, hopelessness, and alcohol abuse in Mexican American residents and to inform future prevention and treatment efforts to improve both the physical and mental health of this population