Ethnic labels and ethnic identity as predictors of drug use among middle school students in the southwest

This article explores differences in the self-reported drug use and exposur e to drugs of an ethnically diverse group of 408 seventh-grade students fro m a large city in the southwest. We contrast the explanatory power of ethni c labels (African American, non-Hispanic White, Mexican American, and mixed ethnicity) and two dimensions of ethnic identity in predicting drug use. O ne dimension focuses on perceived ethnically consistent behavior, speech, a nd looks, while the other gauges a sense of ethnic pride. Ethnic labels wer e found to be somewhat useful in identifying differences in drug use, but t he two ethnic identity measures, by themselves, did not generally help to e xplain differences in drug use. In conjunction, however, ethnic labels and ethnic identity measures explained far more of the differences in drug use than either did alone. The findings indicate that the two dimensions of eth nic identity predict drug outcomes in opposite ways, and these relations ar e different for minority students and non-Hispanic White students. Generall y, African American, Mexican American, and mixed-ethnicity students with a strong sense of ethnic pride reported less drug use and exposure, while eth nically proud White students reported more. Ethnic minority students who vi ewed their behavior, speech, and looks as consistent with their ethnic grou p reported more drug use and exposure, while their White counterparts repor ted less. These findings are discussed, and recommendations for future rese arch are provided.