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
M. Adrian et al., 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, International journal of the addictions, 30(6), 1995, pp. 699-734
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.