A Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Identity Development and Harmful Alcohol Use within a Racially/Ethnically Diverse Sample

The development of a clear sense of identity is a key developmental task in adolescence, and recent studies have found that identity synthesis and confusion are associated negatively and positively, respectively, to alcohol use. One alcohol expectancy - tension reduction - coincides with the hypothesis that identity development may prove to be a stressful developmental process, and may thereby serve as a motivator for adolescents to drink when a belief exists that stress can be reduced through alcohol use. In the present study, we examined the mediational effects between identity synthesis and confusion and later alcohol risk via alcohol expectancies and valuations. The sample included 756 adolescents (53% girls; Mage=13.7 years; SD=1.6 years, 41.4% Hispanic, 39.6% non-Hispanic Black, 8.7% non-Hispanic White, 5.2% Asian, and 5.2% Other). Neither identity synthesis nor confusion significantly predicted tension reduction expectancies. Results indicated that tension reduction expectancies at Time 2 positively predicted alcohol risk levels at Time 3 (β=.112, p=.018). Our findings did not fully support our a-priori hypothesis that identity confusion and identity synthesis later predict tension reduction, in turn predicting alcohol risk. Interestingly, however, the findings revealed that identity synthesis did predict declines in expectancy valuations. This research contributes to the current literature and expounds upon the potential interactions between adolescent identity development and alcohol expectancies and specifically, valuations

Alcohol initiation among recently immigrated Hispanic adolescents: Roles of acculturation and sociocultural stress

There is a growing recognition for the need for research to explore the unique and interactive effects of acculturation and sociocultural stress on alcohol initiation. Building on this research agenda, the current study sought to explore the independent and interactive effects of acculturation (i.e., heritage and U.S. cultural practices and identification) and sociocultural stress (i.e., perceived discrimination, perceived context of reception, and bicultural stress) on alcohol initiation among recently immigrated Hispanic adolescents. Data were taken from a 6-wave longitudinal study with 302 recently immigrated Hispanic adolescents (53% boys; Mage = 14.51 years at baseline; range = 14-17 years) and their families. Discrete-time survival models indicated that none of the acculturation indicators directly predicted alcohol initiation. Sociocultural stress-and specifically, bicultural stress-predicted alcohol initiation. There were significant interactions between acculturation and sociocultural stress in predicting alcohol initiation. Further research considering multiple components of acculturation and sociocultural stressors is needed to broaden our understanding of the potential role of sociocultural processes in alcohol initiation among Hispanic youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)