AUTHOR=Legleye Stéphane , Khlat Myriam , Bricard Damien 
  
TITLE=Substance use among second-generation immigrants in France: heritage language as a protective factor
  
JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health
  
VOLUME=Volume 71 - 2026
  
YEAR=2026
  
URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2026.1609152
  
DOI=10.3389/ijph.2026.1609152
  
ISSN=1661-8564
  
ABSTRACT=ObjectivesStudy substance use among second-generation immigrants in France (G2) in comparison with first-generation immigrants (G1) and majority population, and particularly the variation according to practice of heritage language.Methodsin a nation-wide probability sample, we focused on the two largest groups (from Maghreb and Southern-Europe: n = 2,736), analysing their use of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis. The main factor of interest was practice of heritage language at home at age 15 (vs. exclusive use of French), and we also considered type of parentage: homogenous (two immigrant parents from the same country) vs. mixed (only one, the other being French).ResultsIn comparison with the majority population (neither G1 nor G2: n = 19,185), G1 had lower levels of substance use, followed by G2 speaking the heritage language and by G2 with homogeneous parentage. The other G2 reported higher levels of substance use, close to those of the majority population (even higher for tobacco among Maghrebins and cannabis among South-Europeans). These associations remained robust after adjusting for potential individual and contextual confounding variables.ConclusionIntegrating those specificities may help in designing culturally grounded prevention policies benefitting the population at large.