Ethnic Identity as a Moderator of Psychosocial Risk and Adolescent Alcohol and Marijuana Use: Concurrent and Longitudinal Analyses

SUMMARY

Studies of psychosocial risk and adolescent drag use among minority youth have been primarily descriptive in nature. This may be an unfortunate oversight, particularly because developmental studies indicate that cultural factors play an important role in the etiology of mental health problems. Utilizing data obtained from a sample of minority control students participating in a longitudinal school-based drag prevention trial, we examined the role of ethnic identity as it moderates the relations between several domains of psychosocial risk and alcohol and marijuana use. A risk-factor methodology was used to construct additive risk indices that reflected key domains of a psychosocial model of deviant behavior. Results of cross-sectional analyses indicated that ethnic identity moderated the effects of alcohol-related expectancies, knowledge, and social skills for alcohol use; whereas ethnic identity moderated the effects of social influences, competence, and social skills for marijuana use. Results of longitudinal analyses found that ethnic identity moderated the effects of social skills on alcohol use and in some instances uniquely predicted both alcohol and marijuana use, controlling for risk. Findings are discussed in terms of the formative role of cultural factors as they shape vulnerability to adolescent alcohol and drag use.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethnic Identity
• Drag Use
• Alcohol Use
• Adolescent