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In recent years, significant policy changes focused on immigrants migrating through the southern United States border have been implemented. To determine if there was an association between time since immigration and increases in negative mental health symptomology, 249 Mexican-American immigrants ages 18-65 were field recruited to participate in a survey exploring their physical and mental health. Results indicate that inconsistent with the Hispanic Health Paradox, the psychological health of immigrants arriving since 2015 was significantly worse than that of more established immigrants. New arrivals had a .38 increased risk of experiencing clinically significant depression and a .47 increased risk of experiencing global psychological distress. Time since immigration was not significantly related to past 30-day alcohol use. Implications for future research and clinical practice with immigrants are explored, and suggestions on how better identify and assist Mexican-American immigrants with mental health concerns are offered.

Understanding the effect of cultural values on depression and how social networks influence these relationships may be important in the treatment of substance-using, Mexican American populations. Latino cultural values, familismo, personalismo, fatalismo, and machismo, may be associated with depression among Latinos. The current study identified the association of traditional Latino values on depressive symptomatology among a sample of Mexican American heroin injectors. A cross-sectional research design and field-intensive outreach methodology were utilized to recruit 227 Mexican American men. Participants were categorized into depressed and nondepressed groups. Relations among cultural values and depression were examined using logistic regression. Findings indicate that drug-using men with higher familismo and fatalismo scores are protected against depressive symptomatology. Relations between familismo and depression seem to be moderated by having a drug use network. In addition, findings reveal that age is inversely related to depressive symptomatology. Young Mexican American heroin users who do not ascribe to traditional Latino values may be highly associated with depression and therefore more vulnerable to riskier drug use behaviors. Moreover, drug-using social networks may affect the protective nature of certain cultural values. Further research is needed to identify whether culturally tailored treatments can cultivate these values while simultaneously undermining the effect of substance-using social networks in order to reduce depression symptoms among this group of high-risk substance users.

The influence of the family is not well understood as it relates to drug use behaviors of Hispanic male adults. We examined the family's influence on drug use behavior, as perceived by Hispanic men who use heroin. One-time qualitative interviews were conducted with 21 current and former heroin users who participated in a larger study on long-term heroin use in Mexican-American men. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Three main themes emerged: family as a supportive environment for heroin use; heroin as a family legacy; and, the family's strategies for helping to stop using heroin. A sub-theme emerged on the paradox of family involvement, which spanned the three main themes. This research lays a foundation for future work to disentangle the risks and benefits of family involvement to inform culturally-centered therapies and cultural adaptations to traditional therapeutic approaches with Mexican-American men who abuse drugs.

Drug use among older adults is a growing concern, particularly for the burgeoning Hispanic population. Older adults seeking drug treatment will double over the next decade to almost 6 million. Cultural factors influence drug use, and more specifically, Hispanic cultural values influence heroin use. This study explored Mexican-American injection drug users' adherence to traditional Hispanic cultural values and their impact on cessation. Ethnographic interviews endorsed contextualized influences of values on heroin use. Cultural values functioned dichotomously, influencing both initiation and cessation. Understanding the impact of cultural values on substance abuse is critical given the changing demographics in American society.

Background: This study explores the spatial accessibility of outpatient drug treatment facilities and the potential relationship with drug use-related outcomes among Mexican American heroin users., Methods: Secondary data on 219 current and former heroin-injecting Mexican American men aged 45 and older were drawn from a research study in Houston, Texas. We used geographic information systems (GIS) to derive two spatial accessibility measures: distance from one's place of residence to the closest drug treatment facility (in minutes); and the number of facilities within a 10-minute driving distance from one's place of residence. Exploratory logistic regression analyses examined the association between the spatial accessibility of drug treatment facilities and several drug use-related outcomes: internal locus of control (LOC); perceived chances and worries of injecting in the next six months; treatment utilization; and location of last heroin purchase., Results: Participants with greater spatial access to treatment programs were more likely to report a higher chance of injecting in the near future. However, while current heroin users were more worried about injecting in the next six months, greater spatial access to treatment programs seemed to have a buffering effect. Finally, those who lived closer to a treatment programs were more likely to have last purchased heroin inside the neighborhood versus outside the neighborhood. Spatial accessibility was not associated with internal LOC or treatment utilization., Conclusion: The findings showed that the presence of outpatient treatment facilities-particularly services in Spanish-may influence perceived risk of future heroin use and purchasing behaviors among Mexican American men. Implications for future spatially-informed drug use research and the planning of culturally and linguistically responsive drug treatment programs are discussed., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This article describes social capital in a cohort of 227 Mexican American men who are long-term injection heroin users. Social capital scores for current and former users were similar, suggesting equal absolute values of capital, but associated with illicit activities in current users and with cessation efforts in former users. Stable drug-using relationships provided high negative capital, whereas conventional relationships provided positive capital. Thus, social capital functions dichotomously in positive and negative contextualized roles. This study provides an alternative understanding of the dynamic interactions between individuals, environment, and drug abuse and can inform prevention and treatment interventions for an important demographic group.

Objectives: Research on the health consequences of long-term injection drug use (IDU) is limited. This article examines these consequences among aging, male Mexican American injecting heroin users. Concern for this group is crucial, given its health disparities and the association of IDU with disease transmission., Method: Aging, male Mexican American IDUs (N = 227) were recruited through intensive outreach. Participants self-reported health status, medical and substance use history, and completed behavioral and psychometric health scales., Results: Results: Participants had significantly poorer self-rated health and negative health conditions. Selected medical conditions not associated with the heroin-use lifestyle (i.e., hypertension, diabetes, arthritis) were lower relative to the comparison samples., Discussion: This population has a complex profile of health consequences linked to a heroin-using lifestyle. The study concludes that routine screening of infectious diseases and medical and behavioral conditions among aging substance using populations may contribute to reducing Hispanic health disparities.