The purpose of this study was to examine risk exposure and cigarette use vulnerability among 4,559 8th grade students enrolled in Virginia public schools. The study used 2005 statewide data from the Community Youth Survey (CYS) which assessed risks and protective factors for substance use. The findings indicated that Asian youth reported the lowest exposure to community, family, school, and peer/individual risks, but were most vulnerable in terms of past 30-day cigarette use. African-American youth reported significantly greater risk exposure than did their counterparts on more than half of the risks examined; however, they were substantially less vulnerable to the effects of these risks in comparison to their White, Latino, and Asian peers. The findings are discussed with regard to prevention interventions for adolescents from different ethnic groups.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BrookJ. S.BrookD. W., & PahlK. (2006). The development context for adolescent substance abuse intervention. In LiddleC. (Ed.), Adolescent substance abuse research and clinical advances (pp. 25–51). New York: Cambridge University.
2.
BrounsteinP. J.GardnerS. E., & BackerT. E. (2006). Research to practice: Efforts to bring effective prevention to every community. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 27(1), 91–109.
3.
ChenX.UngerJ. B.CruzT. B., & JohnsonC. A. (1999). Smoking patterns of Asian-American youth in California and their relationship with acculturation. Journal of Adolescent Health, 24(5), 321–328.
4.
ChoiS.RankinS.StewartA., & OkaR. (2008). Effects of acculturation on smoking behavior in Asian Americans: A meta-analysis. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 23(1), 67–73.
5.
CorneilleM., & BelgraveF. Z. (2007). Ethnic identity, neighborhood risk, and adolescent drug and sex attitudes and refusal efficacy: The urban African American girls' experience. Journal of Drug Education, 37(2), 177–190.
6.
DornelasE.PattenC.FischerE.DeckerP. A.OffordK.BarbagalloJ. (2005). Ethnic variation in socioenvironmental factors that influence adolescent smoking. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36, 170–177.
7.
GrieslerP. C., & KandalD. B. (1998). Ethnic differences in correlates of adolescent smoking. Journal of Adolescent Health, 23, 167–180.
8.
GritzE. R.ProkhorovA. V., & HudmonK. S. (2003). Predictors of susceptibility to smoking and ever smoking: A longitudinal study in a triethnic sample of adolescents. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 5(4), 493–506.
9.
HahmH. C.LahiffM., & GutermanN. B. (2003). Acculturation and parental attachment in Asian-American adolescents' alcohol use. Journal of Adolescent Health, 33(2), 119–129.
10.
HawkinsJ. D.CatalanoR. F., & MillerJ. Y. (1992). Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: Implications for drug use prevention. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 64–105.
11.
LeT. N., & StockdaleG. (2008). Acculturative dissonance, ethnic identity, and youth violence. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 14(1), 1–9.
12.
LimM.StormshakE. A., & FalkensteinC. A. (2011). Psychosocial adjustment and substance use of Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrant youth. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, 42(1), 104–119.
13.
MooreM. A.HonnoldJ.DerrigM.GlazeA., & EllisJ. M. (2006). Findings from the 2005 Virginia Community Youth Survey. Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services.
14.
NasimA.BelgraveF. Z.JagersR.WilsonK. D., & OwensK. (2007). The moderating effects of culture on peer deviance and alcohol use among high-risk African American adolescents. Journal of Drug Education, 37(3), 327–355.
15.
NasimA.CoronaR.BelgraveF. Z.UtseyS. O., & FallahN. (2007). Cultural orientation as a protective factor against smoking among African American young women. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 36(4), 503–516.
16.
OstaszewskiK., & ZimmermanM. (2006). The effects of cumulative risks and promotive factors on urban adolescent alcohol and other drug use: A longitudinal study of resiliency. American Journal of Community Psychology, 38(3–4), 237–249.
17.
StewartC. (2002). Family factors of low-income African-American youth associated with substance use: An exploratory analysis. Journal of Ethics in Substance Abuse, 1(1), 97–111.
18.
UngerJ. B.CruzT. B., & RohrbachL. A. (2000). English language use as a risk factor for smoking initiation among Hispanic and Asian American adolescents: Evidence for mediation by tobacco-related beliefs and social norms. Health Psychology, 19, 403–410.
19.
Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation (VTSF). (2008). Tobacco use among Virginia's middle and high school students: Results of the 2007 Youth Tobacco Survey. Richmond, VA: Survey and Evaluation Research Laboratory, Virginia Commonwealth University.
20.
WallaceJ. M.BrownT. N.BackmanJ. G., & LaveistT. A. (2003). The influence of race and religion on abstinence from alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana among adolescents. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 64, 843–849.
21.
WallaceJ. M., & MuroffJ. R. (2002). Preventing substance abuse among African American children and youth: Race differences in risk factor exposure and vulnerability. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 22(3), 235–261.
22.
WellsE. A.MorrisonD. M.GillmoreM. R.CatalanoR. F.IritaniB., & HawkinsJ. D. (1992). Race differences in antisocial behaviors and attitudes and early initiation of substance abuse. Journal of Drug Education, 22(2), 115–130.
23.
WilliamsJ. H.AyersC. D.AbbottR. D.HawkinsJ. D., & CatalanoR. F. (1999). Racial differences in risk factors for delinquency and substance use among adolescents. Social Work Research, 23(4), 241–256.
24.
WrightM. O., & MastenA. S. (2005). Resilience processes in development: Fostering positive adaptation in the context of adversity. In GoldsteinS. & BrooksR. B. (Eds.), Handbook of resilience in children (pp. 17–37). New York: Springer.
25.
YiJ. K., & DanielsA. M. (2001). Substance use among Vietnamese American college students. College Student Journal, 35, 13–23.
