Substance use offers among adolescents living in Mexico: Exploring the impact of romantic relationships on gender differences

Gender differences in the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in Mexico are rapidly disappearing (Villatoro et al., 2005). Survey findings suggest that this may be a function of substance offers and availability (Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, 2008). This paper explores those trends from a local perspective, focusing on the experiences of a group of adolescents (N=432) in Guadalajara-Jalisco. The overall hypothesis leading the study is that adolescents engaged in a romantic relationship will report more frequent substance use offers. It is further hypothesized that this association is moderated by gender. OLS regressions were estimated, predicting substance offers and separately predicting substance use offers from specific people. The results of this study show that the association between being in a relationship and receiving alcohol and other drugs offers is significantly stronger for girls than for boys. The results indicate that in the absences of having ever been in a relationship girls report less offers then boys but that girls reports of substance use offers surpass the boys when they report having been in one or more relationships. Although it is unclear if substance use offers are happing within the romantic relationship itself, the findings indicate and that engaging in romantic relationship may be a risk factor for substance use for females. These findings suggest that shifting gender roles that communicate more permissive dating norms may need to be accompanied with prevention messages that empower females by teaching strategies to respond to substance use offers.