A Motivational Framework to Connect Traditional Feminine Gender Roles to Alcohol Use and Consequences Among Latina Young Adults in the United States.

Abstract

Traditional feminine gender roles (TFGRs) may be important sociocultural predictors of drinking among U.S. Latinas; however, examining the explanatory role of drinking motives will improve current understanding of the connection between TFGRs and alcohol use. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the indirect pathways between four subscales of TFGRs, four subscales of drinking motives, and alcohol outcomes among Latina young adults. A large sample (N = 1,984) of Latina students from 12 U.S. universities completed an online survey. We used an indirect effects approach, in which four subscales of TFGRs predicted five subscales of drinking motives, which predicted alcohol use and negative consequences. Some TFGR subscales (i.e., family pillar and subordinate/self-silencing) predicted greater alcohol use and negative consequences through externally oriented and internally oriented motives. The TFGR subscale virtuous and chaste predicted less alcohol use and negative consequences through both externally and internally oriented motives. This study highlights the importance of modeling sociocultural factors as upstream of cognitive motivational processes to better explain alcohol use among U.S. Latina young adults.