Alcohol Use Among Asian American Adolescent Girls: The Impact of Immigrant Generation Status and Family Relationships
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Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 10:275–294, 2011
Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1533-2640 print=1533-2659 online
DOI: 10.1080/15332640.2011.623484
Alcohol Use Among Asian American
Adolescent Girls: The Impact of Immigrant
Generation Status and Family Relationships
LIN FANG
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
STEVEN P. SCHINKE
School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, New York
Underage drinking among Asian American adolescent girls is not
well understood. Based on family interaction theory, the study exam-
ined the interrelationships among acculturation variables, family
relationships, girls’ depressed mood, peer alcohol use, and girls’ alco-
hol use in a sample of 130 Asian American mother–daughter dyads.
The mediating role of family relationships, girls’ depressed mood,
and peer alcohol use on girls’ drinking was also assessed. The study
advances knowledge related to alcohol use among early Asian
American adolescent girls, highlights the effect of immigrant
generation status and family relationships, and has implications
for culturally specific underage drinking prevention programs.
KEYWORDS acculturation, adolescents, family relationship,
female, immigrant generation, underage drinking
INTRODUCTION
Underage drinking is a widespread and persistent public health problem
that causes severe personal and social consequences for adolescents, their
families, and communities (Powell, Faden, & Wing, 2007). Approximately
10.8 million adolescents aged 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the past
The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA 17721), a Social
Sciences and Humanities Research Council Institutional General Research Grant, and the
University of Toronto Connaught Program. The work was conducted in Columbia University.
Address correspondence to Lin Fang, University of Toronto, Factor-Inwentash Faculty
of Social Work, 246 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 1V4, Canada. E-mail: lin.fang@
utoronto.ca
275276 L. Fang and S. P. Schinke
month, of them approximately 7.2 million were binge drinkers and 2.3 million
were heavy drinkers (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminis-
tration, 2007). Alcohol consumption contributes to three leading causes of
death—unintentional injury, homicide, and suicide—among adolescents
aged 12 to 20 (Powell et al., 2007). Adolescents who drink alcohol are also
prone to violent crime and delinquent behaviors (Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration, 2005), risky, unwanted, or unplanned
sexual activity (Dee, 2001), alterations in brain development (Brown &
Tapert, 2004), and academic failure (Grunbaum et al., 2004). Emerging
research has also documented that early use of alcohol (before age 14) is
strongly predictive of later alcohol misuse (Hawkins et al., 1997), alcohol
dependence, alcohol-related problems and injuries, and driving while under
the influence of alcohol (Hingson, Heeren, & Winter, 2006).
Despite being one of the fastest growing minority groups in the United
States, Asian American adolescents, girls in particular, have received little
attention regarding their drinking practice. Some epidemiological studies sug-
gest that alcohol use among Asian American girls is generally low (Grunbaum,
Lowry, Kann, & Pateman, 2000; Wallace et al., 2002) and is much less than use
among Asian American boys (Otsuki, 2003; Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration, 2002; Wallace et al., 2003), but others
conclude otherwise. Based on a nationally representative sample of Asian
American adolescents who attended secondary schools, Hahm et al. (2004)
found that longitudinally the binge drinking rate of Asian girls increased as
substantially as that of Asian boys, increasing from 14.8% to 33.6% in 1 year.
Nakashima and Wong (2000) analyzed the alcohol consumption of Korean
American high school students in California and found that Korean Americans
girls were just as likely as boys to both drink and misuse alcohol. These find-
ings suggest that gender differences in alcohol use may no longer exist in Asian
American adolescents. Because Asian American adolescents who drink have
the highest alcohol consumption per day compared with adolescents of any
other ethnic group (Makimoto, 1998), the need for understanding alcohol
use behaviors of Asian American girls is high enough to warrant attention.
Literature has suggested that acculturation, peer alcohol use, and
adolescent depressed mood are the main risk factors for Asian American ado-
lescent drinking. Acculturation—the psychological, behavioral, and cultural
changes that follow intercultural contact (Berry, 2003)—is one of the most
widely studied constructs in understanding cross-cultural changes and
migration experiences (Berry, 1997). Asian American adolescents who adhere
to the U.S. culture of origin to a greater extent than their less acculturated
counterparts may easily adopt the normative behaviors (e.g., drinking) of
the host society culture (Harris, 1999). In a sample of Chinese and Filipino
adolescents, higher levels of acculturation were associated with a greater like-
lihood of alcohol use (Zane, Park, & Aoki, 1999) and such results were con-
firmed in a late adolescent Asian American sample (Hendershot, Macpherson,Alcohol Use Among Asian American Adolescent Girls 277
Myers, Carr, & Wall, 2005). Acculturation is often measured by proxy
measures, such as immigrant generation and language use. Foreign-born
status was negatively associated with the use of cigarettes, alcohol, and
marijuana in a combined sample of high school Vietnamese and Chinese
students (Sasao, 1994, 1999). In contrast, being born in the United States
and speaking English at home correlates with higher levels of binge drinking
(Hahm, Lahiff, & Guterman, 2003; Hahm et al., 2004).
As with youth of other ethnicities, affiliation with drinking peers is one of
the strongest predictors for adolescent alcohol use (Le, Goebert, & Wallen,
2009; Nakashima & Wong, 2000). Associating with peers who use alcohol or
drugs predicts alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use among Asian youth
(Avenevoli & Merikangas, 2003; Conrad, Flay, & Hill, 1992; Ellickson &
Morton, 1999; Flay et al., 1994; Gillmore et al., 1990; Otsuki, 2003; Thai,
Connell, & Tebes, 2010). Peer encouragement to become intoxicated is the
leading cause for Korean American adolescents to misuse alcohol (Nakashima
& Wong, 2000). Peer substance use exerts both direct and indirect effects
to alcohol use and serves as a robust mediator between acculturation and
drinking among Asian American adolescents (Hahm et al., 2004; Le et al.,
2009; Thai et al., 2010).
A depressed mood may compel Asian American girls to experiment with
alcohol, and they may use alcohol to manage a negative mood. Studies have
documented that Asian American adolescent girls are vulnerable to depressed
mood. Asian American adolescents experience higher levels of depressive
symptomatology compared with Caucasian adolescents (Lorenzo, Frost, &
Reinherz, 2000), and Asian American girls are more likely to be depressed
than Asian American boys (Grunbaum et al., 2000; Otsuki, 2003). As with girls
of other ethnic and racial groups, Asian American girls who are depressed are
prone to drink alcohol. Otsuki (2003) studied more than 4,300 Asian American
high school students in California and found a strong association between
depressive cognition and alcohol use only among girls, not boys. Depression
and suicide are highly related. Nishimura et al. (2005) found that drinking
behavior was positively associated with suicide indicators among Asian
American high school students in Hawaii. It has been suggested that using
substances such as alcohol to alleviate emotional distress may be considered
acceptable by Asian American girls as one can cope with stress, reestablish
equilibrium and harmony while not causing a burden to others (D’Avanzo,
1997). Moreover, adolescent children may enact poor coping mechanisms
such as drinking to reduce emotional distress caused by poor family relation-
ships (Tschann et al., 2002).
Family Relationships as a Protective Factor
During early adolescence, family remains a proximal context of development
and continues to exert a strong influence, despite the salience of increased278 L. Fang and S. P. Schinke
autonomy (Richardson, 2004). Studies have shown that sound parent–child
communication (Kim, Zane, & Hong, 2002; Shakib et al., 2003), appropriate
parental monitoring (Yang & Solis, 2002), a lack of family conflicts (Harachi,
Catalano, Kim, & Choi, 2001; Zane et al., 1999), and strong parental support
and involvement (Harachi et al., 2001; Nagasawa, Qian, & Wong, 2001) can
decrease the likelihood of substance use among Asian American adolescents.
Parental attachment may also moderate the influence of acculturation on
alcohol use among Asian American adolescents (Hahm et al., 2003). Overall,
these findings suggest that as children move into adolescence, a positive
relationship between parents and children may protect young Asian
American adolescents from using alcohol. However, the interrelationships
among acculturation, peer drinking behavior, depressed mood, and family
relationships remain unclear. Such knowledge is critical for developing
effective interventions aimed to prevent young Asian American girls from
engaging in alcohol use.
Family Interaction Theory as an Explanation Framework
The family interaction theory (Brook, Brook, Gordon, Whiteman, & Cohen,
1990) may provide insight into the relationship between acculturation, family
relationships, peer influence, depressed mood, and girls’ alcohol use. More
than any other theory, family interaction theory posits that parent–child
dynamics during pre-adolescent and early-adolescent years play a significant
role in adolescent substance use (Petraitis, Flay, & Miller, 1995). The theory
views adolescent alcohol use as being determined by the interrelationships
between adolescent interpersonal distress, adolescents’ relationships with
family members, and their affiliations with drinking peers (Brook et al.,
1990; Brook, Richter, & Whiteman, 2000). In particular, a satisfying family
relationship, reflected in strong parent–child communication, appropriate
parental monitoring, high levels of parental involvement, and parent–child
communication, can nurture well-adjusted adolescent personalities, buffer
against peer and psychological risks, and decrease adolescent substance
use (Brook, Brook, & Pahl, 2008).
Although Asian American parents tend to retain their traditional values
and lifestyles, their children usually absorb mainstream cultural beliefs and
behavioral patterns much faster than their parents. The differences in values
between Asian American parents and their children often result in greater
miscommunication, a lack of meaningful conversations, weakened parental
authority, and disruptive intergenerational and intercultural conflict (Dinh &
Nguyen, 2006; Portes & Rumbaut, 2001; Rhee, Chang, & Rhee, 2003; Ying,
1999; Zhou, 1997). From the perspective of family interaction theory, the
alienation from familial support systems can result in poor adolescent
psychological adjustment, frequent involvement with alcohol-using peers,
and engender increased alcohol use among adolescents.Alcohol Use Among Asian American Adolescent Girls 279
The Current Study
The current study examined the interrelationships among acculturation, fam-
ily relationships, peer drinking, depressed mood, and young Asian American
girls’ alcohol use. In the context of family interaction theory, we hypothesized
that (1) greater acculturation (measured by immigrant generation status and
English use at home) would be related to girls’ alcohol use; (2) poor family
relationships would be related to higher levels of depression, peer alcohol
use, and girls’ alcohol use; (3) greater levels of depression and peer alcohol
use would be associated with girls’ alcohol use; (4) poor family relationships
would be indirectly related to girls’ alcohol use through girls’ depressed mood
and their peer alcohol use; and (5) acculturation would be indirectly related to
girls’ alcohol use through poor family relationships, which would also be in
turn associated with higher levels of depression and peer alcohol use.
METHODS
Study Sample and Procedures
The current study used pretest data from a subsample of a family-based
substance use prevention trial for young adolescent girls. The sample for this
study only included participants who self-identified as Asian Americans.
Study participants were recruited between September 2007 and January
2008 through advertisements on the major U.S. online classified service
www.craigslist.net and in mailings to targeted community social service and
health care agencies (e.g., community centers, civic associations, health
clinics, family service centers) that had significant Asian populations across
the United States. Targeting adolescent girls and their mothers, the advertise-
ments directed respondents to a prescreening website that gave details about
the study, specified inclusion criteria (i.e., girls needed to be aged between 11
and 14 years and have private access to a computer and active participation of
girls and their mothers was required), and asked for contact information from
those who wished to be sent informed consent forms. To be eligible for the
study, girls and mothers did not need a history of alcohol or drug use. Signed
consent forms were returned by 130 Asian American mother–daughter pairs.
Over two-thirds (n ¼ 87, 67.0%) were recruited through the Web site adver-
tisement, and 33% (n ¼ 43) were from community agencies. Each mother
and daughter received an individual username and password to access the
online surveys, which were administered in English. To ensure participants’
privacy and data validity, girls and mothers were asked before and after the
survey if they were completing the survey alone. Participants could not begin
the online measures until they confirmed their privacy. Girls and mothers
received $25 each for completing the survey. The research protocol was
approved by the university’s institutional review board.280 L. Fang and S. P. Schinke Measures DEMOGRAPHICS Girls reported their age, and mothers responded to questions that requested information on their age, education (1 ¼ less than high school to 8 ¼ graduate degree), employment status (0 ¼ not employed; 1 ¼ employed), and family composition (0 ¼ single-parent household; 1 ¼ two-parent household). GIRLS’ ALCOHOL USE Girls reported whether they ever had a whole alcoholic drink (i.e., beer, wine, malt liquor, wine coolers, sweet alcoholic drinks, mixed drinks, and hard liquor) in the past 12 months: 0 ¼ never used and 1 ¼ ever used. ENGLISH USE AT HOME Girls provided information on the type of language they used most often at home: 1 ¼ only Asian language; 2 ¼ mostly Asian language and some English; 3 ¼ both Asian language and English equally; 4 ¼ mostly English and some Asian language; and 5 ¼ only English. IMMIGRANT GENERATION STATUS Girls reported their immigrant generation status on a 4-point scale: 1 ¼ adolescent and both parents born outside the United States; 2 ¼ adolescent born in the United States and both parents born outside the United States; 3 ¼ adolescent and only one parent born in the United States; and 4 ¼ adolescent and both parents born in the United States. DEPRESSED MOOD Girls rated their depressed mood, hedonic capacity, vegetative functions, and interpersonal behaviors on the short version of the Children’s Depression Inventory (Kovacs, 1992) by endorsing one of three statements (e.g., ‘‘I’m sad once in a while,’’ ‘‘I’m sad many times,’’ ‘‘I’m sad all the time’’). Possible responses ranged from 0 to 2 on this 10-item scale. Scores were averaged, with higher scores indicating more definite depressive symptoms (a ¼ .89). PERCEIVED PEER SUBSTANCE USE Girls estimated how many of their closest friends drank and how many of them got drunk on a 5-point scale (Johnston, O’Malley, & Bachman, 2001), ranging from 0 ¼ none of them to 4 ¼ all of them. Illustrative is ‘‘How many of your friends use substances at least once a week?’’ The scale had two items and scores were averaged (a ¼ .77).
Alcohol Use Among Asian American Adolescent Girls 281 PARENTAL MONITORING On the Parenting Practices Questionnaire (Gorman-Smith et al., 1996), mothers indicated their parental monitoring on a 5-item measure and reported their awareness of daughter’s whereabouts, activities, friends, and peer activities. Example items included, ‘‘I set a time when my daughter is expected home.’’ Response options ranged from 1 ¼ never to 5 ¼ always. Scores were averaged, with higher scores indicating greater parental monitoring (a ¼ .82). PARENT-CHILD COMMUNICATION Girls rated the communication with their mothers when faced with problems and conflicts on the adapted Family Problem Solving Communication Index (McCubbin, Thompson, & McCubbin, 1996). Girls indicated their agreement with statements such as ‘‘I can discuss my beliefs with my mom without feeling restrained or embarrassed.’’ Reponses on this 5-item scale ranged from 1 ¼ strongly disagree to 5 ¼ strongly agree, where higher averaged scores showed better parent–child communication (a ¼ .85). PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT Mothers reported how often they checked their daughter’s homework and whether the family ate dinner and lunch together on a 3-item scale (Griffin, Botvin, Scheier, Diaz, & Miller, 2000). Scale items included questions such as, ‘‘How often does your family eat dinner together?’’ Responses ranged from 1 ¼ never to 5 ¼ every day, where higher averaged scores signified greater family involvement (a ¼ .82). FAMILY CONFLICTS On the Conflict Behavior Questionnaire-20 (Robin & Foster, 1989), mothers reported the perceived negative conflicts experienced by the mother– daughter dyads in the previous 2 weeks. Illustrative is the statement that ‘‘My child always seems angry at me.’’ Responses ranged from 1 ¼ strongly agree to 6 ¼ strongly disagree (a ¼ .86). FAMILY RULES AGAINST SUBSTANCE USE Responding to a 3-item scale from Strengthening Families Program evaluations (Spoth, Redmond, & Shin, 1998), mothers assessed the extent to which they communicated specific rules about their child’s use of alcohol and the conse- quences for not following those rules on items such as, ‘‘I have explained my rules about alcohol use to my child.’’ Possible scores ranged from 1 ¼ strongly disagree to 5 ¼ strongly agree. Scores were averaged, with higher average scores reflecting more family rules against alcohol use (a ¼ .84).
282 L. Fang and S. P. Schinke
Analysis
We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the study model.
Analyses were done with Mplus version 5.21 (Muthen & Muthen, 2009).
Compared with multiple regression analysis or path analysis, a major advan-
tage of SEM is that the latent factor can capture the shared variance among
its indicators and therefore explicitly partials out measurement error
(Byrne, 2006).
A two-step approach recommended by Anderson and Gerbing (1992)
was used to evaluate whether the model fit the data. The first step involved
a confirmatory factor analysis to estimate the measurement component of the
family relationships construct. The model was specified as the four indicators
(parental involvement, parent–child conflicts, parental monitoring, and
patent–child communication) loaded on the underlying factor—family rela-
tionships. If the psychometric properties of the measurement model were
considered acceptable, we then proceeded to the second step, where the
measurement and structural components were simultaneously estimated. In
the full model, a pathway was set from each of the two acculturation vari-
ables to family relationships (a latent variable). Family relationships were
then set to predict girls’ depressed mood, peer alcohol use, and girls’ alcohol
use. Furthermore, both girls’ depressed mood and peer alcohol use were set
to predict girls’ alcohol use.
Weighted least square (WLS) probit regression was used to estimate
parameters within the SEM model. We used WLS because it could provide
fit indices that estimated a model with a mixture of continuous mediators
(i.e., family relationships, girls’ depressed mood, and peer alcohol use)
and a dichotomous dependent variable (i.e., girls’ alcohol use). To assess
how well the model fit the data, we examined chi-square goodness of fit,
the Comparative Fit index (CFI) (Bentler, 1990), and Root Mean Squared
Error of Approximation (RMSEA) Index (Hu & Bentler, 1995). The model
would be considered fitting the data well if the chi-square result would be
not significant, the CFL value would be greater than .90, and the RMSEA
would be close to zero (Klein, 1998). CFI and RMSEA are both sensitive to
model misspecification and are minimally affected by sample size (Hu &
Bentler, 1995).
Because the study tested multiple mediators, we used bootstrap-
ping estimation to examine significant effects of mediating variables
(MacKinnon, Lockwood, & Williams, 2004; Preacher & Hayes, 2008).
Bootstrapping is a nonparametric resampling procedure. It is helpful in
handling small to moderate sample sizes and can provide more accurate
estimates by constructing 95% confidence intervals (MacKinnon,
Lockwood, Hoffman, West, & Sheets, 2002; MacKinnon et al., 2004).
When the confidence intervals do not include zero, the mediator effect
is interpreted as statistically significant.Alcohol Use Among Asian American Adolescent Girls 283
RESULTS
Sample Characteristics
Girls had an average age of 13.14 years (SD ¼ 0.96 years). Most girls (n ¼ 106,
81.5%) were born in the United States, and 18.5% (n ¼ 24) were born outside
the United States. Of those born in the United States, 47.2% (n ¼ 50) of the
girls had both their parents born in a foreign country, 28.3% (n ¼ 30) had
only one of their parents born in the United States, and 24.5% (n ¼ 26)
had both of their parents born in the United States. Although many girls
spoke only English (n ¼ 39, 30.0%) or spoke English more than an Asian lan-
guage at home (n ¼ 44, 33.8%), 22.3% (n ¼ 29) of girls spoke both an Asian
language and English equally, 9.2% (n ¼ 12) of girls spoke an Asian language
more than English, and 4.6% (n ¼ 6) only spoke an Asian language at home.
The majority of girls (n ¼ 111, 85.4%) lived in a two-parent family. Mothers
had an average age of 40.13 (SD ¼ 7.11) years. Less than half (n ¼ 59,
45.4%) of study mothers attended or had graduated from college and
23.8% (n ¼ 31) held a graduate degree. The majority of mothers (n ¼ 102,
78.5%) were in paid employment.
Model Testing
Table 1 presents the means, standard deviations, and bivariate correlations
for study variables. Prior to the analysis, the normality assumptions of the
data were examined. Univariate indices of skewness and kurtosis suggested
TABLE 1 Descriptive Statistics of Study Variables
Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Immigrant 1
generation status
Language use at .39 1
home
Parent–child .17 .14 1
communication
Parental monitoring .22 .05 .38 1
Parent–child .16 .03 .16 .18 1
conflicts
Parental .19 .03 .27 .17 .12 1
involvement
Girls’ depressed .28 .16 .49 .25 .34 .28 1
mood
Peer alcohol use .04 .07 .19 .25 .18 .05 .14 1
Girls’ drinking .22 .05 .33 .33 .08 .17 .22 .40 1
M 2.56 3.81 4.50 2.88 2.71 4.47 2.20 1.68 0.36
SD 1.00 0.98 0.74 1.09 1.37 1.39 0.67 1.18 0.48
p < 0.05. p < 0.01. p < 0.001. p < 0.0001.284 L. Fang and S. P. Schinke
that these variables were reasonably normally distributed, with none of the
skewness values exceeding 1.53 and no kurtosis values greater than 10.0
(Kline, 1998). The model fit the data well, v2(2, N ¼ 130) ¼ 1.10, p ¼ .58,
CFI ¼ 1.00, RMSEA ¼ .00, 90% CI ¼ 0.00, 0.15. As expected, parental involve-
ment, parent-child conflicts, parental monitoring, and parent-child communi-
cation all loaded properly on the latent variable, family relationships, with all
items loadings being statistically significant (p < .0001).
Figure 1 shows the results of the SEM testing the hypothesized model
and displays the standardized estimates and p values for structural paths.
The model had an acceptable fit to the data: v2(22, N ¼ 130) ¼ 24.10,
p ¼ .34, CFI ¼ 0.95, RMSEA ¼ .03. Girls’ immigrant generation status was posi-
tively related to family relationships (B ¼ 0.23, p < .05) and negatively asso-
ciated with their drinking (B ¼ 0.21, p < .05), but girls’ use of English at
home bore no effects on neither girls’ family relationships nor their alcohol
use. Girls’ family relationships were negatively related to girls’ depressed
mood (B ¼ 0.60, p < .0001), peer alcohol use (B ¼ 0.34, p < .001),
and girls’ drinking (B ¼ 0.46, p < .01). Although girls’ depressed mood
exerted no direct effect on girls’ drinking, peer alcohol use was positively
associated with girls’ alcohol use (B ¼ 0.35, p < .01).
Mediation Effects
Tests of mediation were conducted to examine the relationship between
mediators and girls’ drinking behaviors. Table 2 presents the test results.
FIGURE 1 Structural equation model explaining underage drinking among Asian American
adolescent girls. Note. Only standardized estimates are presented. p < .05. p < .01.
p < .001. p < .0001.Alcohol Use Among Asian American Adolescent Girls 285
TABLE 2 Mediation Effects
Mediation process B (95% CI)
From immigrant generation status to girls’ alcohol use
Family relationships 0.11 (0.003, 0.058)
Family relationships ! peer alcohol use 0.03 (0.001, 0.015)
Family relationships ! girls’ depressed mood 0.02 (0.013, 0.005)
From English language use to girls’ alcohol use
Family relationships 0.07 (0.185, 0.050)
Family relationships ! peer alcohol use 0.02 (0.048, 0.013)
Family relationships ! girls’ depressed mood 0.01 (0.018, 0.038)
From family relationships to girls’ alcohol use
Peer alcohol use 0.07 (0.079, 0.214)
Girls’ depressed mood 0.12 (0.204, 0.030)
Note. Only standardized estimates are presented. CI ¼ confidence interval. Mediation effects were
calculated using MacKinnon and Lockwood’s asymmetric distribution of products tests (MacKinnon
et al., 2002).
p < 0.05. p < 0.01.
Mediation effects were interpreted significant when the corresponding
confidence intervals did not include zero. Results indicated that family rela-
tionships mediated the relationship between immigrant generation status and
girls’ drinking (B ¼ 0.12, p < .05; 95% CI ¼ 0.003, 0.058). In addition, peer use
also mediated the relationship between family relationships and girls’ alcohol
use (B ¼ 0.12, p < .01; 95% CI, 0.204, 0.030).
DISCUSSION
The research examined the interrelationships among acculturation variables,
depressed mood, peer drinking, family relationships, and alcohol use among
Asian American adolescent girls based on the family interaction theory.
Results demonstrated the effects of immigrant generation status, family rela-
tionships, and peer alcohol use on girls’ alcohol use. Furthermore, it also
highlighted the mediating role of family relationships and peer alcohol use.
Surprisingly, girls’ immigration status exerted both direct and indirect
effects on girls’ reduced alcohol use in the opposite direction to what was
hypothesized. This finding is contrary to prior studies examining the effect
of immigrant generation status on substance use among immigrant adoles-
cents (e.g., Acevedo-Garcia, Pan, Jun, Osypuk, & Emmons, 2005; Hamilton,
Noh, & Adlaf, 2009). In the current study, as girls’ immigrant generation status
increases, they have a better relationship with their mothers and are less
likely to drink alcohol. These results may highlight the effect of differential
rates of acculturation, or dissonant acculturation (Portes, 1997). Whereas in
first- and second-generation immigrant families, children of immigrant
parents adjust to the new culture more quickly than their parents who may286 L. Fang and S. P. Schinke
be reluctant to accept cultural changes, it is less the case in the third or later
generation immigrant families. It is possible that the intergenerational differ-
ence in family values and autonomy is relatively small in Asian families
where both children and parents were born in the United States, which in
turn leads to less family conflicts and reduced alcohol uptake among ado-
lescent girls. Indeed, negotiating between the two fundamentally different
cultures can pose a great challenge to Asian American adolescents (Uba,
1994). If their parents are unable or unwilling to assist them with managing
the psychosocial challenges they face, Asian American girls are more likely to
turn to their peers for behavioral codes and guidance and to engage in drink-
ing or other substance use.
Family interaction theory was partially supported by this study. As
expected, positive family relationships—observed in strong parental involve-
ment, low parent-child conflicts, appropriate parental monitoring, and
enhanced parent-child communication—were associated with lower levels
of depressed mood, decreased affiliation with drinking peers, and reduced
underage drinking among adolescent girls. Family relationships also
mediated the association between girls’ immigrant generation status and their
drinking. Higher immigrant generation status was associated with better
family relationships, which then were associated with less likelihood of
alcohol use among Asian American girls. On the other hand, although poor
family relationships strongly predicted girls’ depressed mood and peer
alcohol use, only peer alcohol use in turn predicted girls’ alcohol use.
Mediation analyses also confirmed that peer alcohol use mediated the associ-
ation between family relationships and girls’ peer use, but girls’ depressed
mood did not exert the same mediating effect.
Study results clearly underscored the protective value of family relation-
ships in assisting young adolescent girls against underage drinking. Cultural
values shape parenting practices, which in turn affect child outcomes. Asian
American families are often viewed as family-oriented and cohesive given
their roots in traditional Asian values that emphasize family solidarity (Ross-
Sheriff & Chaudhuri, 2003; Uba, 1994). The Asian value of filial piety—a cul-
tural virtue characterized by obedience to parents, provision of financial and
emotional support to parents, and avoidance of behavior that would disgrace
the family name (Ho, 1994; Liu, Ng, Weatherall, & Loong, 2000)—may buffer
against alcohol use among Asian American girls by affecting both parents’
and children’s behaviors. Under the strong influence of filial piety, Asian
American parents admonish and teach their children to behave and orient
themselves toward their parents and even their ancestors. Although Asian
American parents feel obligated to sacrifice their time and efforts to help chil-
dren to achieve (Chao, 1996; Shen, Chiu, & Lim, 2006), their children are
expected to be present for daily meals, holidays, and special occasions
(Mordkowitz & Ginsburg, 1987). Although Asian American parents exert
firm control over their children’s lives in areas such as academic, social,Alcohol Use Among Asian American Adolescent Girls 287
and extracurricular activities (Ishii-Kuntz, 2000; Shen et al., 2006), they often
exercise the parental control and monitoring with high levels of warmth
(Jose, Huntsinger, Huntsinger, & Liaw, 2000). As a result, Asian American
children may interpret their parents’ monitoring and involvement positively
(Kao, 2004; Shen et al., 2006) and are more concerned with receiving par-
ental approval and avoiding conflicts with parents (Ishii-Kuntz, 2000). Our
study demonstrates that when Asian American mothers provide high levels
of involvement, have proper parental monitoring, openly express their
warmth and concerns toward their daughters, and have fewer intrafamilial
conflicts, their daughters are at reduced risks of engaging in underage
drinking behavior.
Parallel to past research (Bhattacharya, Cleland, & Holland, 1999; Hahm
et al., 2004; Otsuki, 2003), our findings show that affiliating with drinking
peers is a strong risk factor of alcohol use among Asian American girls. Peer
influence on adolescent substance use is consistent across a variety of cultures
(Brook et al., 2008), and girls in general are more peer-oriented than boys and
may be more susceptible to social influences (Flay et al., 1994). Our study
findings further suggest that Asian American girls who have a poor family
relationship may likely associate themselves with drinking peers. Through
role modeling, drinking peers may in turn influence girls’ attitudes toward
drinking and involvement in alcohol use. To help girls develop effective stra-
tegies to resist peer influence, prevention programs should not only help girls’
develop refusal skills, but also strengthen their family functioning so that girls
will be less likely to seek support and guidance from drinking peers.
Asian American adolescents who experience high parental conflict are
30 times more likely to engage in suicidal behavior compared with those with
low parental conflict (Groves, Stanley, & Sher, 2007). Although in the current
study there was a positive relationship between girls’ depressed mood and
their alcohol use at bivariate level, such association diminished in the SEM
model when acculturation variables, family relationships, and peer alcohol
use were taken into account. Although family relationships were strongly
associated with girls’ depressed mood, such association did not in turn affect
girls’ alcohol use. Study data suggest that the influence of family relationships
on girls’ drinking surpasses that of girls’ depressed mood. Girls who have a
better relationship with their parents may be less likely to turn to alcohol to
cope with their psychological distress.
Limitations
The current study had several limitations. First, the use of non-probability
sampling and the small sample size restricted generalizability. Considering
the size of the model being evaluated, the small sample size might also affect
interpretation of the findings. Second, our surveys were administered in
English via the Internet, which might limit the pool of potential participants.288 L. Fang and S. P. Schinke
Because our study sample had private access to a computer and Internet and
might be from families with higher socioeconomic status, study results may
not be translated to general Asian American populations. Nevertheless, given
that Asian Americans are highly computer literate, with 75% of English-
speaking Asian adults using the Internet (Spooner, 2001) and 90% of Asian
American children using a computer at home (Day, Janus, & Davis, 2005),
online recruitment is innovative and may be appropriate for Asian
Americans. Furthermore, more than 60% of participants were recruited from
Craigslist. Such a recruitment strategy restricted the sample to people who
accessed this particular site.
Third, our study treated Asians as an aggregated group, did not account
for heterogeneity within the Asian population, and might have masked varia-
tions in the patterns of alcohol use among subgroups. Fourth, study data were
cross-sectional and could only describe associations among study variables.
Fifth, our acculturation variables only consisted of immigrant generation sta-
tus and English language use. Although English language use and immigrant
generation status have been shown to correlate highly with multidimensional
acculturation scales (Ebin et al., 2001; Epstein, Botvin, Dusenbury, Diaz, &
Kerner, 1996), acculturation is nevertheless a complex construct that involves
the adoptions of elements of a different culture including concepts,
languages, values, norms, and behaviors (Sam, 2006). Sixth, validity of self-
reports may be questionable. Still, evidence shows that people are willing
to self-report their substance use on confidential questionnaires used in
survey research (Harrison, Martin, Enev, & Harrington, 2007), and we used
measures to ensure participant privacy during the data collection
process. Lastly, due to the young age of study girls, our results may only
reflect the risks for the initiation of alcohol use among Asian American
adolescent girls.
CONCLUSIONS
These limitations notwithstanding, our study has strengths. Study data begin
to fill gaps in young Asian American adolescents, a population that is not well
understood. Study findings partially support the family interaction theory and
provide insights for prevention researchers and practitioners into how accul-
turation, family relationships, and other psychosocial processes may affect
girls’ underage drinking behavior and serve as a basis for enhancing preven-
tion effects. The current study highlights the role of immigrant generation sta-
tus and family relationships and suggests that the effect of immigrant
generation status on girls’ alcohol use can be better explained by their family
relationships. Immigrant generation status may be a protective factor against
underage drinking for Asian American girls, especially when their family rela-
tionships are strong. Targeting family relationships to improve parent–childAlcohol Use Among Asian American Adolescent Girls 289
communication, enhance parental monitoring, reduce parent–child conflicts,
and increase family involvement may be beneficial for decreasing underage
drinking among Asian American girls. The study also supports the need for
prevention programs to address the negative effect of affiliation with drinking
peers. Future research should seek to replicate our findings in other larger,
more representative samples, include monolingual Asian language speakers,
collect ethnic-specific data, use longitudinal designs, and consider multidi-
mensional acculturation measures. Such work will facilitate the development
of effective prevention programs to reverse the worrying alcohol use trends
among Asian American adolescent girls.
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