Traditional Family Values and Substance Abuse

Based on findings from a sample of nearly 1,100 Puerto Ricans living in the New York area, this book posits that adhering to traditional cultural values (for example, the family) has the socially desirable consequence of discouraging such deviant behaviours as substance abuse. The authors conclude that promoting specific values will not prevent certain individual and social ills; rather, promoting a "sense of tradition" itself is needed.