Among Hispanic subgroups, the prevalence of alcohol abuse and dependence was highest in Mexicans, followed by Puerto Ricans, and was lowest among Cubans (Lipsky and Caetano 2009). Some Hispanic subgroups exhibited a protective effect of foreign-born nativity on risk for alcohol abuse or dependence. For example, in NESARC Wave 1, 4.8 percent of foreign-born Cuban Americans reported a lifetime DSM–IV AUD, compared with 28.1 percent of U.S.-born Cuban Americans. A similar, albeit less extreme, pattern was found among Puerto Ricans, with 14.5 percent of island-born Puerto Ricans but 21.4 percent of U.S.-born Puerto Ricans reporting a lifetime AUD (Alegria et al. 2006).
