Recent Alcohol Use and Episodic Heavy Drinking among Multiracial Youth

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of involvement in pro-social activities, risky behaviors, parent protective factors, and teacher/school protective factors on recent alcohol use (past 30 days) and frequent episodic heavy drinking among multicultural students. Methods: The PRIDE national survey was administered to Greater Cincinnati students in 7th - 12th grades. This survey was tested for validity and reliability prior to survey administration, yielding correlation coefficients for stability reliability and internal consistency reliability > .81. Students who self-identified as multiracial were included in this study (n = 2134). Results: One in five (20.2%) recently used alcohol and one in ten (10.1%) frequently (often/a lot) engaged in episodic heavy drinking. Logistic regression analyses indicated the following variables placed students at increased odds for recent alcohol use and frequent episodic heavy drinking (p < .001): Being a junior/senior; having low involvement in pro-social behaviors, having high involvement in risky behaviors, having low levels of parent protective factors, and having low levels of teacher/school protective factors. Conclusions: Protective factors such as involvement in pro-social behaviors and positive parent, teacher and school factors help to protect multiracial youth from involvement in recent alcohol use and episodic heavy drinking. These results should be considered when developing and implementing alcohol prevention efforts for multiracial youth. Findings can assist health educators to more thoroughly understand how involvement in pro-social behaviors, risky behaviors and parent/teacher/school factors are associated with recent alcohol use and episodic heavy drinking among multiracial youth.