Poster #179 - The Relationship Between Ethnic Identity and Alcohol Use

• In Event: 1-115 - Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Section - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Integrative Statement

Alcohol use, including heavy drinking and alcohol related problems, increases in adolescence (Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2018). Prevalence rates, however, indicate important differences across ethnicity and race. Specifically, alcohol consumption tends to be highest among non-Hispanic, white youth (Stock et al., 2013) resulting in a growing recognition to understand the factors underlying alcohol initiation and use among ethnic/racial minorities. Although a number of factors impact alcohol initiation, ethnic/racial identity (ERI) has been found to act as a buffer against alcohol use for ethnic/racial minorities (Caldwell, Sellers, Bernat, & Zimmerman, 2004). Scholars have proposed potential mechanisms through which ethnic identity may operate as a protective factor against substance use (Meca et al., 2017; Unger, 2011), yet a limited number of longitudinal studies have sought to empirically evaluate these methods (Zapolski, Fisher, Banks, Hensel, & Barnes-Najor, 2017). The current study sought to explore whether pro-alcohol attitudes mediate the effects of ethnic/racial identity on alcohol use among an ethnically diverse sample of adolescents.

The sample consisted of 581 ethnic/racial minority adolescents from Miami-Dade County, FL and Prince George’s County, MD (see Table 1 for Demographics). To explore whether pro-alcohol attitudes mediated the effects of ethnic/racial identity on alcohol use, as measured by the brief two-item NIAAA/AAP Brief Alcohol Use Screener (NIAAA, 2011; Meca et al., 2017), we evaluated a path model in Mplus, v8.0 (Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2017) using a Robust Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLR). Missing data were handled using full information maximum likelihood (FIML) estimation. We controlled for gender and age within the model. The specified model provided a good fit to the data: χ2(1) = .028, p = .867; CFI = 1.000; RMSEA<.001; SRMR = .001. As shown in Table 2, ERI at Time 1 significantly predicted pro-alcohol use attitudes at Time 2 (β = -.116, p=.028) which in turn predicted alcohol use at Time 3 (β = .169, p=.001). Final project will explore specific sub-group differences in the relations between pro-alcohol use attitudes, alcohol use, and ERI processes.

Prior research found ERI acts as a buffer against substance use among ethnic/racial minorities (Caldwell et al., 2004; Zapolski et al., 2017). Consistent with this research, our study indicated that ethnic affirmation negatively predicted alcohol attitudes, which in turn predicted alcohol use, suggesting that ethnic/racial affirmation may serve as protective factor in preventative programs. The results from our study suggest ethnic affirmation may be beneficial in preventative programs targeting alcohol use among ethnic minority populations. This may be because a stronger sense of ERI represents a greater adherence to anti-alcohol use attitudes that are congruent with youths’ cultural group attitudes and beliefs regarding drug use (Unger 2011; Zapolski et al., 2017). As a whole, the proposed study provides an important contribution in support of current, prevailing, theoretical models that delineate the links between ERI and alcohol use.

Authors

• DARIEL TAYLOR, Old Dominion University
  Presenting Author

• Richie Kubilus, Old Dominion University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Iayonna Brown, Old Dominion University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Alan Meca, Old Dominion University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jonathan G. Tubman, American University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Seth J. Schwartz, University of Miami
  Non-Presenting Author