The Protective Effect of Ethnic Identity on Drug Attitudes and Drug Use Among High School Students from Diverse Backgrounds

Introduction:  Racial disparities have been well documented in the prevalence of and consequences from drug use among ethnic minority youth. For example, African American youth experience significantly greater negative health and social consequences from drug use than their White peers at comparable levels of use. Given the higher risk of drug related consequences among minority youth, researchers have begun to examine resiliency factors that may help buffer against drug use. The protective effect of ethnic identity has been observed across ethnic groups, but appears to be particularly salient for African Americans. However, the mechanisms through which ethnic identity influences drug use have received far less attention. The aim of this investigation was to test the hypothesized protective effect of ethnic identity on subsequent drug use through reduction of drug attitudes among high school youth. We also aimed to examine if the effect of ethnic identity on drug use occurred across drug types (i.e., alcohol and marijuana use) or varied as a function of race (i.e., African American and White).

Methods: In a two wave prospective study, 877 White and 169 African American youth provided data on ethnic identity, drug attitudes, and drug use during their 9^th and 10^th grade year. Among these participants, 602 (57.5%) were female and the average age was 15.18 years (SD = 0.43) at 9th grade.

Results: Higher ethnic identity in 9^th grade predicted lower past month drug use assessed in 10^th grade, which was mediated through a reduction in drug attitudes. This relationship was found to be present among across drug type (i.e., alcohol use and marijuana use). However, the magnitude of the predictive relationship differed based on race, with the effect of ethnic identity on subsequent drug use being stronger for African American than White youth.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that promoting a sense of pride in your cultural background is important for all youth as it subsequently predicts lower drug attitudes and ultimately lower drug use. However, such promotion may be particularly beneficial for African American youth, as the effect is stronger and the associated negative outcomes related to drug use have been shown to be more severe among this population of youth than youth of other ethnic/racial groups. These findings can be used to inform drug preventative programing on the specific target areas that may be beneficial for diverse populations of youth.