An assessment of individual-level factors associated with alcohol treatment utilization among Mexican Americans

•We assess treatment use for alcohol-related problems among Mexican Americans.•We found no differences in border compared to non-border residents on treatment use.•Need for treatment was the strongest predictor of treatment utilization.•Severity of alcohol disorders did not vary between border and non-border residents.•“Enabling” factors did not vary by need for treatment in predicting utilization.

The purpose of this study is to identify enabling factors for treatment utilization for alcohol-related problems, and to evaluate how enabling factors vary by need for treatment, among two samples of Mexican American adults. These two distinct samples included 2,595 current and former drinkers (one sample included 787 U.S./Mexico border residents; the other sample included 740 Mexican Americans living in U.S. cities not proximal to the border). Need for treatment (alcohol disorder severity) and (male) gender were the primary correlates of treatment utilization; and there was no moderation in the enabling factors by need for treatment as “enablers” of utilization. Further theoretical and empirical research is necessary to determine which mechanisms are driving disparities in treatment utilization across racial/ethnic groups generally, and Hispanic national groups specifically.