SUBSTANCE USE AS A MEASURE OF SOCIAL INTEGRATION FOR WOMEN OF DIFFERENT ETHNOCULTURAL GROUPS INTO MAINSTREAM CULTURE IN A PLURALIST SOCIETY- THE EXAMPLE OF CANADA

Analysis of Canadian data from the 1989 National Alcohol and Drugs Sur vey was used to identify profiles of alcohol and other drug-using beha viors among Canadian women of different ethnic or cultural groups. The profile considered 110 different substance use variables including al cohol or drug type used, quantity, frequency, drinking or drug-taking circumstances, beverage preference, reasons for drinking or not drinki ng, and opinions regarding appropriate drinking or drug-taking behavio r of Canadian women who described themselves as belonging to the ''Can adian,'' French, English, German/Dutch, Irish, Scottish, Ukrainian/Pol ish, Italian/Portuguese, and ''Other'' (Chinese, Jewish, and ''Other'' ) ethnic or cultural groups. Alcohol, tobacco, and drug use behavior w as found to differ by ethnocultural group. Further, each ethnocultural group was found to differ from the national average. The amount of di fference between the national average and each ethnocultural group was related to the period of arrival and the length of time that an ethno cultural group has been present in Canada. The degree of similarity or difference between each ethnocultural group and the mainstream nation al average for alcohol, tobacco, and drug use and drug-use behavior ma y be used to measure the degree of social integration of each ethnocul tural group and the degree of acculturation of women of specific ethno cultural groups into mainstream Canadian society.