Alcohol Use Among Asian American Adolescent Girls: The Impact of Immigrant Generation Status and Family Relationships

Abstract

Underage drinking among Asian American adolescent girls is not well understood. Based on family interaction theory, the study examined the interrelationships among acculturation variables, family relationships, girls’ depressed mood, peer alcohol use, and girls’ alcohol use in a sample of 130 Asian American mother–daughter dyads. The mediating role of family relationships, girls’ depressed mood, and peer alcohol use on girls’ drinking was also assessed. The study advances knowledge related to alcohol use among early Asian American adolescent girls, highlights the effect of immigrant generation status and family relationships, and has implications for culturally specific underage drinking prevention programs.

KEYWORDS:

• acculturation
• adolescents
• family relationship
• female
• immigrant generation
• underage drinking

View correction statement:

Corrigenda

Acknowledgments

The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA 17721), a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Institutional General Research Grant, and the University of Toronto Connaught Program. The work was conducted in Columbia University.

Notes

*p < 0.05. **p < 0.01. ***p < 0.001. ****p < 0.0001.

Note. Only standardized estimates are presented. CI = confidence interval. Mediation effects were calculated using MacKinnon and Lockwood's asymmetric distribution of products tests (MacKinnon et al., 2002).

*p < 0.05. **p < 0.01.