# Mexican American Drinking Contexts On and Away from the U.S./Mexico Border

> **NIH NIH P60** · PACIFIC INSTITUTE FOR RES AND EVALUATION · 2021 · $358,719

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The U.S./Mexico border is a unique macro context for drinking, with increased alcohol availability due to the lower
minimum legal drinking age in Mexico of 18 years and an increased number of venues for on premise consumption of
alcohol (bars, clubs, restaurants). Previous research has shown that the border population is more at risk for unsafe
drinking (binge) and drinking-related problems than the population off the border. Mexican Americans are uniquely
exposed to this macro environment by virtue of their location in large numbers in cities on the U.S./Mexico border. This
component of the Center will use analyses of archival data (e.g., hospital admissions), ethnographic assessments of
drinking venues, and survey methods to examine the association between drinking contexts and problem drinking, and
associated drinking problems, including DSM-5 alcohol use disorder (AUD) among Mexican American younger adults
(18-39 years of age) living in the California/Mexico border area of Imperial City, El Centro, Heber, and Calexico
(hereafter border cities). This sample will be compared to a group of age matched Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic
Whites who live away from the border, in the cities of Delano, Madera, Tulare, and Visalia, in the Central Valley of
California (hereafter Valley cities). The aims and hypotheses to be tested in this Center component are: Aim 1: Archival
data for Mexican Americans in the border cities will show a higher rate of alcohol-related hospital discharges, motor
vehicle crashes and emergency room admissions; violent crime rates, violent assault rates; drinking and driving arrest, and
higher alcohol outlet density, than data for Mexican Americans and Whites in Valley cities; Aim2: Survey data will show
that, a) younger Mexican Americans in the border cities will be more likely to drink in public venues such as bars and
clubs than at home and with family than age matched Mexican American and Whites in Valley cities; b) patronage of
public drinking venues such as bars and clubs among younger Mexican Americans in the border cities will lead to heavier
drinking and more frequent binge drinking; c) patronage of public drinking venues such as bars and clubs will also be
associated with younger age (18 to 30), male gender, higher income, drinking with friends (as opposed to family or
romantic partner), and higher impulsivity, sensation seeking and risk taking; Aim 3: Survey data will also show that, a)
rates of alcohol-related social problems (e.g., with family, job, legal, sexual, aggression), as well as DSM-5 AUD, will be
higher among Mexican Americans in the border cities than among age matched Mexican Americans and Whites in Valley
cities; and b) higher frequency of drinking in on premise outlets and drinking in Mexico (for residents of border cities)
will have an independent effect on alcohol-related social problems and DSM-5 AUD; Aim 4: Unobtrusive systematic
observations and semi-structured interviews will be condu...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10064077
- **Project number:** 5P60AA006282-39
- **Recipient organization:** PACIFIC INSTITUTE FOR RES AND EVALUATION
- **Principal Investigator:** RAUL CAETANO
- **Activity code:** P60 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $358,719
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1983-09-29 → 2022-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10064077

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10064077, Mexican American Drinking Contexts On and Away from the U.S./Mexico Border (5P60AA006282-39). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10064077. Licensed CC0.

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