Differences in Alcohol Use Between Mexican Americans in Texas and California

This article examined the frequency of drunkenness, alcohol problems, and attitudes toward drinking and appropriate drinking for Mexican Americans in Texas and California. Respondents were part of a multistageprobabilitysample of U. S. Hispanics 18 years of age and older. The response ratefor the survey was 72%. Results indicated that Mexican Americans in California report more episodes of drunkenness, moreproblems, and are more accepting of drinking and drunkenness than those in Texas. These results confirmed differences in drinking patterns between Mexican Americans in these two states reported in a previous analysis of the same sample. They also were in agreement with regional differences in alcohol consumption reported in the literature.