Examination of the indirect effect of alcohol expectancies on ethnic identity and adolescent drinking outcomes.

Abstract

Although overall rates of alcohol use tend to be lower among racial/ethnic minority youth compared to White youth, consequences associated with use tend to be more severe. Identifying factors that prevent alcohol use is crucial to reducing its impact among minority adolescents. One such factor is ethnic identity, which involves gaining clarity about one’s ethnic background and regard toward one’s ethnic group. Strong ethnic identity has been found to work through antidrug beliefs to decrease minority youth’s substance use. The current study extends previous literature by examining whether specific alcohol cognitions—alcohol expectancies—explain the promotive effect of ethnic identity on alcohol use and severity of alcohol use among minority youth. Participants were 113 ethnic minority youth ages 12–18 (M = 15.27). Most participants were male (66%) and identified as non-Hispanic African American/Black (70%), followed by Hispanic/Latino (15%), multiracial (12%), and American Indian/Native American (3%). Participants completed self-report measures of ethnic identity, positive and negative alcohol expectancies, and hazardous drinking, which were analyzed in an indirect effects model. Results indicated that ethnic identity was inversely related to negative alcohol expectancies. A significant indirect effect of ethnic identity on severity of alcohol use through negative alcohol expectancies was found. However, no indirect effect was found for positive alcohol expectancies. Findings suggest that strong ethnic identity serves as a promotive factor preventing alcohol use for ethnic minority youth, in part through more negative alcohol expectancies, and may be a beneficial target for intervention programs to reduce alcohol use among this group.

Exposure to Social Media Racial Discrimination and Mental Health among Adolescents of Color

“…For adolescents, a final score of 4 is a cutoff for alcohol abuse or dependence (Knight et al, 2003 ). Reliability of AUDIT has been supported by research on adolescents aged 12–18 years old self-identified as black (70%), Latinx (15%), multiracial (12%), and Indigenous (3%) (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.91; Banks et al, 2019 ). The scale had good inter-item reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.87 for the total sample, 0.82 for Asian, 0.92 for black, 0.91 for Indigenous, 0.88 for Latinx) for the current study.…”

Black First-Year College Students’ Alcohol Outcome Expectancies

“…19 In these cases, Black students may be more likely to endorse negative AOEs than positive ones. 23 Overall, 64% of first-year college students' hookups involved alcohol consumption. 24 Black college students are less likely to hookup than their White counterparts, 25 thus underscoring the importance of understanding Black college students' AOEs specific to sexual behaviors and perceptions of intimacy.…”

Epilogue for the special issue on sociocultural factors and mechanisms in alcohol use: Epidemiology, prevention, and intervention among ethnic minority groups: Lessons learned.

“…For example, in the study by Paulus et al (2019), the level of emotion dysregulation among Latinx moderated the association between acculturative stress and alcohol use. Banks et al (2019) found that ethnic identity and type of drug expectancy predicted decreased alcohol consumption. While Paulus et al and Banks et al used person variables, the work of Vaeth and his colleagues (Vaeth, Caetano, & Canino, 2019) tested a mediation model involving molar variables such as neighborhood disadvantage and neighborhood social cohesion.…”

“…When comparing the alcohol between various Asian American college students, Iwamoto et al found that risk factors within Asian Americans included American born status (vs. overseas born), drinking to cope, and being members of fraternities or sororities. Banks, Winningham, Wua, and Zapolskia (2019) studied the association between ethnic identity and negative drug expectancies on rates of alcohol consumption. Having a strong ethnic identity helped to prevent alcohol use.…”