The impact of social support on substance use among Latino American adolescents

Thesis (M.S.W.) California State University, Los Angeles, 2013Committee members: Siyon Rhee, Joanne Altschuler, Dale WeaverDrinking, Latino American, Social SupportThis research project was a quantitative study that used secondary data retrieved from the California Health Interview Survey 2009 (CHIS 2009), Adolescent Survey. The findings were obtained using Univariate and Bivariate analysis. Some of the most significant findings were those who reported positive Psychological Well-Being reported to drink less, those who reported Excellent or Very Good Health were more likely to drink less than those who reported Poor Heath, those who reported to be US Born, drank more than those who reported to be foreign born, and those who reported a lower socio-economic status were less likely to drink. Future implications for Social Work practice suggests that there needs to be more outreach programs to educate and train communities to prevent further adolescent drinking. Regardless of nativity there needs to be a focus on adolescent substance use as a problem among this population. There also needs to be more supportive services for parents