Neighborhood-level Factors Associated with Substance Use Among Hispanic Urban Youth

Le résumé fourni par la source

Multilevel factors across individual, family and neighborhood contexts influence youth substance use behavior. While previous studies produced mixed findings about how neighborhood factors affect substance use, few studies focused on the everyday experiences of Hispanic urban youth living in urban settings. This study examined how individual, family, and neighborhood experiences shaped the health, development, and substance use decisions among Hispanic urban youth. We conducted semi-structured interviews with Hispanic urban youth (ages 12-14) residing in urban neighborhoods across San Diego County. Guided by grounded theory and thematic analysis, with double coding, iterative discussions, and multi-phase processes, we identified emergent patterns, relationships, and themes related to neighborhood factors and conditions that shape youth’s decision-making processes and behavioral outcomes. We identified three multilevel contextual themes of influence as key determining factors for youths’ decisions to either “use” or “not use” substances: coping and knowledge occurring at the individual level, risks and supports at the family-level; and a lack of safe recreational spaces at the neighborhood level. Beyond the neighborhood, there are factors influencing substance use behavior among Hispanic urban youth in urban settings. Many of these neighborhood-level factors are tied to structural-level influences resulting from resource distribution and historical redlining.

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