The Drinking Behaviors of Migrant and Non-Migrant Farmworkers

This project is a comparative study examining drinking behaviors and outcomes among migrant and non-migrant (stationary) farm workers in the Connecticut River Valley.

The specific aims of the project are:

• to identify the living and working conditions of these two groups of farmworkers and to assess their subjective well-being

• to identify both the social, cultural and economic conditions underlying
drinking behaviors; and the prevalence and nature of drinking among workers

• to evaluate the impact of these behaviors and conditions on problem drinking and HIV risk behaviors.

Furthermore, the project seeks to identify several moderating variables that may curtail excessive drinking behaviors, including social support, marital status, cultural orientation, and other potentially protective factors. These aims are to be achieved through qualitative and quantitative research methods, including: focus groups, in-depth interviews; participant observation; social network analysis; and a structured survey with a sample of 150 migrant and 150 non-migrant farm workers to determine the relationship between migration patterns, problem drinking, and HIV risk.

Our interdisciplinary, community-based research team combines skills in both the applied and theoretical study of substance abuse, HIV risk behavior, and migration, as well as particular expertise in Latin American Studies and Latino and West Indian communities in the United States

Research Team
Michael Duke, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
Merrill Singer, Ph.D., Co-Investigator
Anna Marie Nicolaysen, M.A., Coordinator
Claudia Santelices, Ph.D., Ethnographer
Jianghong Li, M.D., M.S., Data Analyst
Juhem Navarro, M.A., Data Manager
Johan Galarza, Outreach Interviewer