Since the steep rise of the Hispanic population in America, it is without a doubt—like their similar minorities—that the Hispanic population has been met with falsehoods upon falsehoods fabricated by America’s White residents, founded on erroneous assumptions and ethnic bias as they come up time and time again. A 2012 survey carried out by the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) revealed that 33% of White Americans believed that more than 50% of the Hispanics in the U.S. were uneducated with large families, a belief that the New York Times called a mistake. For myself, I have had instances where people expressed shock over my standing in school because they never expected a Mexican to be able to “do that well.” Many would declare Hispanic Americans are additionally prone to drink “far more” than their White counterparts, however, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has proven that Hispanic people are less likely to drink alcohol than their White counterparts; and reports from SAMHSA detailing senior dropout rates in High School show a 46% prevalence of Alcohol abuse among White people among High School seniors, whereas Hispanic people showed a 33.1% prevalence.
Hispanic Americans are not any more prone to drinking more frequently than White Americans; and that seems to be a truth America has a difficult time accepting. As such, there are unfortunate downsides that come with these falsehoods forced upon Hispanic Americans by American culture. Although the NIAAA has proven that Hispanic people are less likely to drink alcohol than their white people, when they do drink, it was found that they tend to drink far more in volume. Much of this is due to acculturation, assimilation into American society, and that aforementioned lack of proper representation in America; so when some White Americans may see this Hispanic “inferiority” as being derived from their “poor lead on life” outside of America, it should always be noted that the greatest contributor to Hispanic rate of substance abuse is actually the heightened stress placed upon Hispanic immigrants inside of America.
As previously mentioned, a combination of the lack of representation Hispanics receive in government and in public, their status/perceived identity as immigrants (the threat of undocumented/documented presence), and their minority ethnic demographic maintained across America, serves to provide a deep well of stress that may plague a Hispanic individual for life. The Counseling Psychiatrist warns that when Hispanics immigrate to the United States, they face triggers of anxiety and depression that can last for their entire lives—and so the Anxiety and Depression Association of America describes substance abuse, trauma, and stress disorders as an accompanying package of that. The Counseling Psychiatrist lists aspects of immigration that can coincide with an immigrant’s enormous emotional stress that puts them at risk for substance abuse, in religious/ethnic persecution (1), lack of job opportunities/travel freedom due to an immigrant’s status (2), lack of legal protection due to their status as citizens (3), fear of deportation (4), difficulty to see friends/family in their home country (5), and trauma in the case of involuntary immigration, i.e. having to flee violence, becoming a victim of human trafficking, etc. (6).
Reasons for the immigration itself can often be traumatic on its own, different from the effects of once an immigrant has already “settled down” as listed above. Some may have to leave their homes and cultures by force, then endure a trek that may be long, expensive, and dangerous for a destination they may not know much about. By their arrival, they have to be evaluated, to see if they can even witness the fruits of their journey, and once they receive entry into their foreign destination, there comes a whole different beast of language, customs, and culture that they must become familiar with.
That “whole different beast” encompasses its a new variety of cultural and psychological changes to the mind upon Hispanic immigrants; an example the American Psychological Association (APA) takes note of is that in some Hispanic cultures, averting one’s eyes shows respect for an elderly/person in authority, while in the United States, doing so is considered dishonesty.
Another example would be American emphasis on deadlines, when time management in Hispanic cultures puts far more emphasis on quality of work than that ability to meet times and dates; and a general yet often overlooked statement among it all is how hard of a shift it is from the Hispanic culture of community weaved upon group cohesion to the American culture of prized individual fulfillment and personal gain instead. Sudden shifts like these in concepts of family, self-identity, work, and communication can be a significant cause of stress for those trying to adapt to the American lifestyle; the director of the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research at Harvard Medical School proves this, mentioning to The Fix that “Latinos who live in areas where no one understands them, where there is no one to talk to, may resort to substance abuse to alleviate the inevitable depression they will experience” (theatlantic.com).
Because of the more isolated culture of America, accompanied by the stress placed upon Hispanic immigrants to integrate into this culture as soon as possible, it is no surprise the state of Washington reported that Hispanic people who were more acculturated were 13 times more likely to use illegal drugs/alcohol to those who adhered more closely to their culture’s values. It is no surprise the Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse finds a “consistently positive relationship” between English-speaking proficiency and preference among Latinos and higher rates of alcohol abuse; that a greater comfort level with the American culture can lead to a higher risk for alcohol abuse.
So, when some White Americans try to criticize Hispanic Americans upon the supposed “failures” of their home country, it should always be noted that the only place for criticism in relation to Hispanic Americans is upon America and America only, and the enormity of the stress its inflexibility and lack of mental health services for immigrants inflicts upon the Hispanic community.
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