Impact of social influences and problem behavior on alcohol use among inner-city Hispanic and black adolescents

Objective: Inner-city black and Hispanic adolescents might be at great risk for alcohol use. Yet the etiology of drinking among these adolescents rece ives little attention. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of social influences and problem behavior on alcohol use among Hispanic and black adolescents. The impact of these factors was also tested separately for girls and boys to determine the differences in etiology of alcohol use depending on gender. Method: A large sample of black and Hispanic seventh-g rade students (N = 4,847, 52% female) self-reported alcohol use, demographi c characteristics (gender, family structure, age, ethnicity and socioeconom ic status), social influences to drink (peer norms, adult norms, their frie nds' use, their mother's use, their father's use, their siblings' use, and perceived availability of alcohol), and problem behaviors (cigarette smokin g, marijuana use, getting into trouble). Teams of three to five data collec tors administered the questionnaire following standardized protocol. These data were collected in class during a regular 40-minute period. Results: Lo gistic regressions indicated that social influences to drink from friends, peers, and family and problem behaviors including cigarette smoking and mar ijuana use were related to alcohol use across and within gender. Getting in to trouble predicted drinking for boys but not girls. Conclusions: Based on these findings, adolescent alcohol prevention programs need to include an awareness of the many social influences to drink, modify incorrectly percei ved peer norms for drinking, involve family members in the prevention progr am and address an array of problem behaviors within one prevention interven tion.