A confirmatory model for substance use among Japanese American and part-Japanese American adolescents.

Few studies have examined the effect of ethnicity and cultural identity on substance use among Asian and Pacific Islander adolescents. A cross-sequential study conducted in Hawai'i with 144 Japanese and part-Japanese American adolescents assessed a model integrating Japanese ethnicity, cultural identity, substance use, major life events, and social support. Japanese American adolescents scored higher on the Japanese Culture Scale and on the Peers' Social Support than the part-Japanese American adolescents. Significant associations for substance use and impairment included culturally intensified events and Japanese cultural identity-behavior subset. Models had good overall fits and suggested that conflict surrounding cultural identity may contribute to substance use.