Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health, Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Center for Research on US Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse (CRUSADA), Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA.
Subst Use Misuse. 2022;57(2):175-184. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2021.1990342. Epub 2021 Dec 13.
Shifts in the sociopolitical context of Latin America have led to steep increases in recent Latinx immigrants (RLI) arriving in the US within the context of forced migration. Yet, little is known about how adverse experiences of RLIs before and after immigration may impact their health including drug use. The purpose of this study was to examine prescription drug and cannabis use before and just after immigration among RLIs and how this drug use is influenced by pre-and post-immigration factors. This study utilized baseline data from a study examining pre- to post-immigration drinking and driving trajectories among RLI in the United States (US). Baseline criteria included: self-identifying as a Latinx immigrant, 18 - 34 years old, who recently immigrated from a Latin American country. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to determine predictors of drug use both prior to and after immigrating. There were 540 RLI, 50.2% male and 47.8% subjected to forced migration. Prescription and illicit drug use decreased post-immigration with sedatives being the most common. Higher levels of education was associated with increased odds of pre-immigration prescription drug use and cannabis use. Those experiencing forced migration were more likely to engage in prescription drug use before and after immigration, while no associations were found for cannabis use. Findings suggest a need for increased substance use and mental health services among RLIs arriving within the context of forced migration. More research is needed to understand the trajectories of drug use among RLI as their time in the US increases.
拉丁美洲社会政治环境的变化导致近年来被迫移民到美国的拉丁裔新移民（RLI）数量急剧增加。然而，人们对 RLI 在移民前后的不利经历如何影响他们的健康，包括药物使用，知之甚少。本研究旨在探讨 RLI 移民前后的处方药和大麻使用情况，以及这种药物使用如何受到移民前后因素的影响。本研究利用了一项研究的基线数据，该研究考察了美国 RLI 从移民前到移民后的饮酒和驾驶轨迹。基线标准包括：自我认同为拉丁裔移民，年龄在 18-34 岁之间，最近从拉丁美洲国家移民。采用多变量逻辑回归来确定移民前后药物使用的预测因素。共有 540 名 RLI，其中 50.2%为男性，47.8%为被迫移民。移民后，处方药和非法药物的使用减少了，镇静剂是最常见的。较高的教育水平与移民前处方药使用和大麻使用的几率增加有关。经历过被迫移民的人更有可能在移民前后使用处方药，而大麻使用则没有关联。研究结果表明，在被迫移民的背景下，需要增加为 RLI 提供物质使用和心理健康服务。需要更多的研究来了解 RLI 的药物使用轨迹，因为他们在美国的时间增加了。
