Risk and protective factors related to native Hawaiian adolescent alcohol use

The present study examined protective and risk factors in the prediction of alcohol use for Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian (i.e. Caucasian, Japanese, Filip ino, 'other') adolescents. Comparable rates of similar to 25% were found fo r both the Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian samples regarding sometimes drinking t oo much alcohol. However, Hawaiians reported a statistically significantly higher rate (3.7%) of taking 'a drink in the morning to steady my nerves or to get rid of a hangover' than non-Hawaiians (1.3%). The reason for this i s unknown but might indicate a higher rate of dependent alcohol use. The ov erall results supported the traditional model of protective and risk factor s predicting alcohol use (R-2 > 15.0%), with relatively few differences fou nd between the two ethnic groups. Further research is needed in assessing p ossibly unique cultural variables such as Hawaiian acculturation.