Influence of Race and Ethnicity on Substance Use and Negative Activity Involvement Among Monoracial and Multiracial Adolescents of the Southwest

• NCJ Number: 229335
• Journal: Journal of Drug Education Volume: 39 Issue: 2 Dated: 2009 Pages: 195-210
• Author(s): Kelly F. Jackson, Ph.D., M.S.W.; Craig W. LeCroy, Ph.D., M.S.W.
• Date Published: 2009
• Length: 16 pages
• Grant Number(s): 1H86SP05148-01
• Sponsoring Agency: SAMHSA Ctr for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined a broad set of predictor variables related to sociodemographic, peer, family, community, and school influence for substance use and problem behaviors among 749 European-American, African-American, Hispanic, Native-American, and multiracial early adolescents living in a large urban city in the Southwest United States.

Abstract

The study found no significant relationships between socioeconomic status and any of the three dependent measures of problem behavior when controlling for parent composition, race, sex, and age. Multiracial adolescents were more likely to have negative substance abuse attitudes and engage in problem behaviors. This differs from previous research that has found no or limited differences between the risky behaviors of multiracial youth compared to their monoracial peers. Further research is needed on the rates and patterns of behavior and the determinants of problem behaviors among multiracial adolescents. Many of the family predictor variables had a significant relationship to the various measures of problem behavior, with family support being the most consistent factor predicting adolescent problem behaviors. For Native-American adolescents, family conflict had a stronger effect on the number of substances compared with other racial groups. These overall results suggest that not only are family factors critical for adolescent positive adjustment, but differing family factors may be significant for different racial groups. The community involvement factor did not significantly predict any of the measures of problem behavior. Although the school predictors did not independently influence measures of problem behavior, school attachment apparently was a critical predictor for the multiracial adolescents. The findings add to the body of research that indicates peer factors are very important in influencing problem behaviors in adolescents across different racial groups. The three dependent measures were attitude toward substance abuse, number of substances used, and negative activity involvement (number of times youth were involved in 12 problem behaviors). 5 tables and 32 references