Immigration-related Stress, Social Support, Drinking to Cope, and Problematic Alcohol Use among Latine College Students: A Moderated-Mediation Model

Problematic alcohol use among U.S. college students remains a significant public health concern, with high rates of binge drinking and alcohol-related consequences documented across campuses. While research has examined general risk factors for problematic drinking, less is known about how students with marginalized identities, particularly Latine college students who face unique stressors such as immigration, are at heightened risk to engage in problematic alcohol use. The present study examined whether immigration-related stress indirectly influences problematic alcohol use outcomes through drinking to cope motives among Latine college students, and whether perceived social support moderates these relationships. Participants included Latine college students (n = 270) across eight universities in six U.S. states who consumed alcohol in the past month. The majority of participants identified as being of Mexican origin (67.0%), female (71.5%), and reported a mean age of 20.35 years (SD = 3.0). Within our mediation model, results indicated that immigration-related stress was significantly associated with more alcohol-related consequences via greater endorsement of drinking to cope motives (indirect β = .06). Within our moderated-mediation model, social support was negatively associated with alcohol coping motives (β = -.26, CI [-0.43, -0.09]), but the interaction between immigration-related stress and social support was not statistically significant. Overall, our findings suggest that drinking to cope is a key mechanism through which immigration-related stress relates to problematic alcohol use among Latine college students. For at-risk students, campus interventions should aim to strengthen social support networks while addressing maladaptive coping mechanisms that develop in response to immigration-related stressors. Keywords: latine/x, coping motives, alcohol consequences, immigration stress, social support