Culturally Competent Intervention with Families of Latino Youth at Risk for Drug Abuse

Research on Latino parental influences consistently points to the critical role that the attitudes and behaviors of parents play in predicting early use of substances by their children (Coombs, Paulson, & Richardson, 1991; Department of Health and Human Services, 1995; Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992; Hernandez & Lucero, 1996; Johnson & Johnson, 1999; Scheier, Botvin, & Miller, 1999; Sealy, 2000; Vega, Kourney, Zimmerman, & Gil, 1995). Researchers have emphasized that adolescent support networks may be more important in explaining drug use behavior than the individual characteristics of the adolescents themselves (Krohn & Thornberry, 1993; Wallace, 1999). Latino parental influence and quality of the parent-child relationship were critical predictors in the initiation and experimentation of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use among high-risk youth (Coombs et al., 1991; Hawkins et al., 1992).