SUBSTANCE USE & MISUSE, 36(4), 477–499 (2001) LINGUISTIC ACCULTURATION ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER MARIJUANA AND POLYDRUG USE AMONG HISPANIC ADOLESCENTS Jennifer A. Epstein, Ph.D.,* Gilbert J. Botvin, Ph.D., and Tracy Diaz, M.A. Institute for Prevention Research, Cornell University, Weill Medical College, New York, New York 10021 ABSTRACT Hispanic sixth and seventh graders in 22 New York City middle schools (mean age: 12.66 years) completed self-report questionnaires with items related to drug use (cigarette smok- ing, alcohol use, and marijuana) use and linguistic accultura- tion at two assessments (N ¼ 1299 at baseline; N ¼ 1038 at 1- year follow-up). Adolescents who spoke English with their parents smoked marijuana more frequently than those who spoke Spanish with their parents at both surveys. By the 1- year follow-up, students who spoke English with their parents and bilingual students who spoke English and Spanish with their parents engaged in greater polydrug use than those who spoke Spanish with their parents. 477 Copyright & 2001 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. www.dekker.com * Corresponding author. Jennifer A. Epstein, Institute for Prevention Research, Department of Public Health, Cornell University, Weill Medical College, 411 East 69th Street, KB 201, New York, NY 10021. E-mail: jepstein@ mail.med.cornell.edu Subst Use Misuse Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by Cornell University on 07/22/15 For personal use only.