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KOREAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS’ ALCOHOL ABUSE
By

Jaehong Park

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Social Work

2008

ABSTRACT
KOREAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS’ ALCOHOL ABUSE
By

Jaehong Park

Adolescents’ alcohol abuse is a serious family and social problem. Although
many studies have focused on adolescents’ alcohol abuse, only a few have examined on
Asian American adolescents’ alcohol abuse, and Korean American adolescents’ alcohol
abuse has received even less attention. The purpose of this study is to explore Asian
American students’ alcohol abuse, to learn about contributing factors to their drinking
behavior and attitudes, and to compare their alcohol abuse with Caucasian American,
Latino American and African American students. Among Asian American students,
Korean American, Chinese American, Japanese American, and Vietnamese American
students were selected because of their shared Confucian cultural backgrounds.

After examining existing data a Korean American adolescent alcohol use and
abuse, I decided to approach Dr. Gregory Austin, director of health and human
development at WestEd, a research institute in Los Alamitos, California, who conducted
one of the most comprehensive studies of adolescent alcohol use and abuse in 1996,
which included the 1996 Asian Student Drug Survey (ASDS). Dr. Austin graciously
gave me permission to use the ASDS data set which was the basis for my secondary data
analysis.

My research showed that Caucasian American adolescents use alcohol more
frequently than other adolescents, followed by Latino Americans, African Americans and

Asian Americans. Korean American and Japanese American adolescents use alcohol

more frequently than other Asian American adolescents. Vietnamese American and
Chinese American adolescents are least likely to use alcohol. Korean American and
Japanese American students show similar drinking behaviors, as do Chinese American
and Vietnamese American students.

The most severe problems associated with adolescents’ alcohol abuse are binge
drinking, which leads to “passing-out,” “blacking-out,” and other risky behaviors.
Adolescents’ alcohol abuse leads to difﬁculties at school, poor academic performance,
conﬂicts with parents and friends, damaged relationships, trafﬁc accidents and citations
from the police.

My research found that peer variables (peer alcohol abuse, peer pressure) were
most consistently and Signiﬁcantly correlated with Asian American students’ alcohol use
and abuse. Family and acculturation variables showed “mixed” associations with alcohol
abuse. Interestingly “perceived racial discrimination” was signiﬁcantly correlated with
Asian American students’ alcohol abuse, while it was not signiﬁcantly correlated with
alcohol abuse by students from other ethnic group.

The ﬁndings of this study provide useful information for social workers,
educators and other helping professionals concerned with adolescents’ alcohol abuse.
This study conﬁrmed existing knowledge about why adolescents abuse alcohol, and
provided new information about Asian American, primarily Korean American students’

alcohol abuse.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are many people to whom I owe debts of gratitude. Dr. John Herrick
(Chairperson), Dr. Timothy Stocks, Dr. Steven Gold, and Dr. Vincent Hoffman were my
dissertation committee members. Dr. Kyu-taik Sung was my undergraduate adviser who
gave continuous support and advice as I ﬁnished my dissertation. I thank them for their
encouragement and allowing me to learn from the process of this study and to complete
this project. I have beneﬁted greatly from their advice and support. I am especially
grateful to Dr. Herrick for his endless editing of my drafts during the long process of
completing this dissertation. I am equally grateful for his scholarly advice and wisdom.

I thank Dr. Gregory Austin (WestEd, California) for his permission to use his data
from the “Asian Student Drug survey” that was completed in California for this study. I
thank Ms. Hui Hua Chua, a Michigan State University librarian, and Ms. Daphne Horn,
the California Student Survey project manager, for helping me access the study, contact
the person in charge, and obtain permission to conduct a secondary data analysis.

I am grateful to my friends who helped me to progress in my project. Dr. Jaeyop
Kim encouraged me to make continuous progress and ﬁnish the project. Sokho Lee, Chi
Dang and Lauren Ramsey helped me analyze the data. Many ﬁ'iends back in Korea and
in the United States supported me throughout my study. Though I cannot mention all of
them by name, deep in my heart I will always be thankful for their help, their
encouragement, and being there for me. I also want to thank the College of Social
Science at Michigan State University for awarding me a doctoral dissertation completion

scholarship which provided generous ﬁnancial support.

iv

My parents have provided support and encouragement for many years. My
brothers and sister also have provided me unending support and love. They believed that
I would complete my study from the beginning and always gave me their support and
encouragement. I am forever grateful for their unlimited love and support. I dedicate my

dissertation to them.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................. viii
LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................. x
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................. 1
A. Problem Statement ................................................................. l
B. Background and Signiﬁcance .................................................... 3
C. Purpose of the Study ............................................................... 6
CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................ 9
A. Korean American Adolescents’ Alcohol Use and Abuse .................... 9
1. Alcohol Use among Asian Americans ...................................... 9
2. Alcohol Abuse among Asian American Adolescents ................... 10
3. Structural factors associated with Asian American Adolescents

Alcohol Abuse: Economic Status and Family Structural Factors. ....1 l

4. Parental Education and Asian American Adolescents’ Success. . .....12

5. Korean American Family Life and Cultural Factors .................... 14

6. Alcohol Abuse among Korean American Adolescents ................. 16

B. Theories relating to Korean American Adolescents’ Alcohol Abuse ....... 19

1. Family Systems Theory and Family Inﬂuences .......................... 19

2. Peer Cluster Theory and Peer Inﬂuences ................................. 22

3. Acculturation Theory and Acculturation Inﬂuences ..................... 26

4. Adolescents’ Self-concept and Self-esteem .............................. 3O

5. Perceived Racial Discrimination ........................................... 32

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHOD .................................... 35
A. Research Data ..................................................................... 36

B. Research Questions ............................................................... 38

C. Research Variables ................................................................ 38
D. Instrument ........................................................................... 40

E. Analysis ............................................................................. 41
CHAPTER IV. FINDINGS ....................................................................... 42
A. Study Sample .................................................................................... 42
B. Adolescents’ Alcohol Use across All Ethnic Groups .......................... 43

1. Prevalence of Alcohol Use ................................................... 43

2. Problems Caused by Alcohol Use across All Ethnic Groups ............ 47

3. Prevalence of Alcohol Use: Comparison between Korean
American Adolescents and adolescents from other Ethnic American
Adolescents ..................................................................... 55

vi

C. Family Environments ............................................................ 65

D. Multivariate Analysis
1. Regression analysis for all students’ alcohol abuse ...................... 68
2. Regression analysis for Asian American students’ alcohol abuse. .....71
E. Summary of Results ............................................................... 74
CHAPTER V. DISCUSSION ................................................................... 75
Limitations of the study ............................................................... 79
Suggestions for future research ...................................................... 80
APPENDIX ......................................................................................... 81
REFERENCES ................................................................................... 93

vii

Table 1:

Table 2:

Table 3:

Table 4:

Table 5:

Table 6:

Table 7:

Table 8:

Table 9:

Table 10:
Table 11:
Table 12:
Table 13:
Table 14:
Table 15:

Table 16:
Table 17:
Table 18:
Table 19:
Table 20:
Table 21:

Table 22:

LIST OF TABLES

Grade .................................................................................. 42
Gender .......... ' ...................................................................... 43
Ethnicity and Asian sub-ethnic groups ............................................ 43
Have you ever drank alcohol? ...................................................................... 44
Have you ever gotten drunk? ...................................................... 45
How often have you used alcohol in the last 12 months? 45
How often have you gotten drunk in the last 12 months? 46
How oﬁen have you used alcohol in the last month? ........................... 46
In the last month, how many times did you get drunk? ........................ 47
Drinking behavior: adolescents’ perception of their drinking behavior ...... 48
Perceived harm in using alcohol Once or tw1ce ......48
Perceived harm in using alcohol regularly ......................................... 49
Perceived harm in getting drunk once or twice .................................. 49
Perceived harm in getting drunk regularly ......................................... 50
Received a traffic ticket ............................................................. 51
Involved in an accident because of drinking ..................................... 52
Arrested because of drinking ....................................................... 52
Money problems because of drinking. . . . ......................................... 52
Trouble at school because of drinking ............................................. 52
Drinking caused bad academic performance .................................... 53
Drinking caused ﬁghting with other kids ......................................... 53

Drinking caused ﬁghting with parents ............................................ 53

Table 23:
Table 24:
Table 25:
Table 26:
Table 27:

Table 28:

Table 29:

Table 30:

Table 31:

Table 32:

Table 33:

Table 34:
Table 35:
Table 36:

Table 37:

Table 38:

Drinking caused damaged friendships ............................................... 53

Drinking caused passing-out ......................................................... 54
Drinking caused blacking-out ........................................................ 54
Drinking caused me to break something ............................................ 55
ANOVA: Ethnic group differences on adolescents’ alcohol abuse... . .. ........55

Multiple Ethnic group comparisons on “How often have you used alcohol
in the last month? ............................................................................................. 57

Have you ever had alcohol to drink and have you ever gotten drunk?

(selected Asian American groups and Caucasian American,

Latino American, and African American students) ............................... 60
In the last month, how often did you use alcohol (across all ethnic Groups)?61

In the last month, how often did you get drunk (across all ethnic Groups)?...62

Drinking behaviors across all ethnic groups ....................................... 63
How many of your ﬁiends get drunk occasionally across all ethnic

groups? ............................................................................................................. 64
Father lives at home ................................................................... 66
Mother lives at home .................................................................. 66
Summary: Family factors across all ethnic groups ................................ 67

Regression analysis of contributing factors to adolescents’ alcohol
abuse for all ethnic groups’ adolescents ............................................. 7O

Regression analysis of contributing factors to adolescents’ alcohol
abuse for Asian American adolescents ............................................. 73

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Research Framework ............................................................... 39

Title: Korean American Adolescents’ Alcohol Abuse

Chapter I. Introduction
A. Problem Statement

Adolescents’ alcohol abuse is a critical issue in the United States. Suicide,
homicide, and motor vehicle injuries are related to adolescent alcohol use and the
prevalence of adolescent substance use has been growing rapidly (Swadi, 1999). Despite
the fact that it is illegal for adolescents to purchase alcoholic beverages, experience with
alcohol is almost universal among them. Adolescents’ alcohol use is widespread and
alcohol has been tried by 44 % of eighth graders, 64 % of tenth graders, and 77 % of
twelﬁh graders. A critical issue with adolescents’ alcohol abuse is the widespread
occurrence of heavy drinking measured by the percentage of adolescents’ reporting ﬁve
or more drinks at one time at least once in the prior two week period. 11 % of eighth
graders, 22 % of tenth graders, 29 % of twelfth graders have reported occasional heavy
drinking (Johnston, O’Malley, & Bachman, 2005).

Although many studies have focused on adolescent alcohol abuse, only a few
have focused on Korean American adolescents’ alcohol abuse. Most of the studies report
that adolescent alcohol abuse is more prevalent among Caucasian adolescents than
among Asian Americans. (Barnes & Welte, 1986; Gillmore et al., 1990). Swade (1999)
and Makimoto (1999) found that Asian American adolescent alcohol abuse is a very
complex and serious problem. Asian American adolescents, in general, are less likely to
be involved in drinking compared to other adolescents. But when Asian American

adolescents drink they are often involved in heavy drinking and those who “binge drink”

consume more alcohol than Caucasian American adolescent binge drinkers (Barnes &
Welte, 1986).

Several authors have identiﬁed family factors as important correlates of
adolescents’ alcohol abuse (Jessor & Jessor, 1977). Family characteristics such as strong
family bonds between family members can mediate environmental or social factors that
might inﬂuence adolescent alcohol abuse. Few studies have investigated whether ethnic
differences in adolescent alcohol abuse are due in part to ethnic differences in families.
This is particularly important in studying Korean American adolescent alcohol abuse
since Korean family traditions may enhance or inhibit patterns of alcohol consumption.

One important factor to examine in Korean American adolescents’ alcohol use is
the role of acculturation. Acculturation is the process by which an ethnic group gradually
changes its behaviors and attitudes to be more like those of the host society (Goldon,
1964). It is important to exam ethnic differences in the relationship between risk factors
for adolescent alcohol abuse how these factors protect adolescents from stressors which
might encourage them to use alcohol.

All adolescents strive to be accepted by their peers and their behavior is shaped by
peer cultures. In order to merge with peers and not be different from them, adolescents
adopt peers’ attitudes, behaviors, and styles of dress (Harris, 1995). Korean American
adolescents quickly learn that “American” behaviors are positively rewarded in their
interactions with peers in social and school settings. The critical role of peer
socialization in adolescents’ alcohol abuse is well established. For instance, increases in

adolescents’ friends’ alcohol and tobacco use seems to be associated with high alcohol

and tobacco use by adolescents in the United States (Scheier, 2001). We do not know if

peer pressure exerts the same inﬂuence upon Korean American adolescents.

B. Background and Signiﬁcance

The term “Asian” refers to people having origins in the Far East, Southeast Asia,
or the Indian subcontinent (US. Census Bureau, 2002). Asian Americans are made up of
physically and culturally diverse groups with different languages, customs, and values.
Each major Asian ethnic group has its own language and dominant religion.

Asian Americans are the fastest growing minority group in the United States.
Between 1980 and 2000, the Asian American population doubled (Hobbs & Stoops,
2002). According to the US. census, Asian Americans are estimated to number around
12 million, or 4 % of the total United States population (U .8. Census Bureau, 2002). The
population has increased dramatically from 1.4 million or 0.7 % of the total population in
1970 (Gall & Gall, 1993). Current projections are that by 2050 the Asian American
population will rise to about 8 % of the US. population or 40 million (Yip, 1996).

Korean Americans are one of the most numerous Asian subgroups in the United
States. The 1970 census was the ﬁrst to record Korean American as a distinct ethnic
group (Lee, 1987). Since 1965, the numbers of Korean immigrants have increased
dramatically. Today, there are approximately 1,100,000 Koreans living in the United
States (U .8. Census Bureau, 2002).

As the children of immigrants, Asian American adolescents are enmeshed in
immigrant communities as well as the larger American society. Second generation Asian

Americans live between two different worlds, the immigrant world and larger American

society, and they are not fully comfortable in either one (Min, 1995). They are often in
conﬂict with their parents and their values. Kibria (2002) suggested that second
generation Chinese and Korean Americans experience marginality, cultural clashes, and
life in two worlds. This can result in dissonance and confusion.

Many Asian American adolescents are stereotyped as the “model minority”
because they are believed to have overcome the challenges of racism, low socioeconomic
status, unfamiliarity with American culture, and limited English language skills to attain
educational and economic success comparable to or even exceeding that of European
Americans (Tang, 1997). There is support for this stereotype. Asian Americans are
overrepresented among those with college and post bachelor degrees. The 2000 US.
Census (2002) found that 46.9 % of Asain/Paciﬁc Islanders, 26.4 % Caucasian
Americans, 16.1 % of African Americans, 11.2 % of Hispanic, and 28.5 % of Non-
Hispanic Whites held bachelors or advanced degrees. While the model minority image
generates pride for some Asian Americans, it also promotes competition, envy, and
prejudice from members of other racial groups (Hurh & Kim, 1989).

One cultural explanation attributes Asian American achievement to traditional
Asian American values, such as ﬁlial piety, diligence, and respect for hard-work (Kim &
Chun, 1994). Others attribute Asian American achievement to “relative functionalism”,
meaning that Asian Americans use education as primary means for social mobility in a
society that discriminates against racial minorities (Sue & Okazaki, 1990). Asian
American adolescents with positive attitudes value learning and academic
accomplishments and share their parents’ belief that education is an important means of

upward social mobility (Tan, 1994).

Many Korean American adolescents born and raised in the United States have
made remarkable academic achievements. There are many indicators of their success.
For example, Min and Hong (2002) found that in three specialized high schools in New
York City, which base their admissions on competitive examinations in English and
mathematics, Korean American students represented 15 % of those accepted although
they constituted less than 1 % of the population in New York City.

Although large numbers of Korean American students are highly successful in
their school work, some new immigrants have problems in school and become involved
in a variety of delinquent acts. Some Korean adolescents experience serious conﬂicts
with their parents. Cutting class, skipping school without notice, ﬁghting, and running
away from home are typical problems of Korean American high school students. Gang
related crimes and alcohol abuse by adolescents have also become problems in the
Korean immigrant community. Although these problems may be relatively rare
considering the size of the Korean population, Korean parents are very concerned about

them (Min, 1995).

Language barriers, cultural differences, and a sense of alienation and
discrimination in school are just some of the sources of Korean adolescents’ problems. In
a study of Korean junior and senior high school students in New York city, Min (1991)
found that 30 % of Korean American students felt personally discriminated against by
American students, and18 % said that they had the feeling of being discriminated against

by American teachers.

Although there is parent-child conﬂict in all families, conﬂicts are exacerbated in

Korean immigrant families because of language barriers and value differences. Since

many Korean parents cannot speak English well, their children’s use of English in

communicating with them can cause serious problems (Min & Hong, 2002).

Most Korean American parents put great pressure on their children to excel in
school and attend good colleges. Unsuccessful Korean American students are not
rewarded and are sometimes even neglected by parents, increasing the likelihood they
will spend time on the street. Many Korean immigrant parents, who spend long hours at
work, have little time to play with their children or supervise them at home. Min (1991)
found that 64 % of the Korean American adolescents surveyed did not have any parent at
home after school although they might have siblings or others present, and 46 %
indicated that there isn’t anyone at home after school. It is easy for Korean American
adolescents, who are not interested in academics and who are not interested in studying,
to go out, meet friends, and get caught up in delinquent activities when no one supervises

them at home after school.

C. Purpose of the Study
It is important to acknowledge that Asian American adolescents have received
little attention from school systems and helping professionals. Asian American
adolescents as “model minority” are not seen as a group that requires special attention to
prevent alcohol abuse. Furthermore, it is generally assume that Asian American
adolescents seldom seek help from school counselors or helping professionals. Since

Asian American adolescents and particularly Korean American adolescents have unique

experience as a member of minority ethnic groups, their decision to use or abuse alcohol

are problematic and warrant further study.

Issues associated with adolescent alcohol use are well documented in research
conducted by social workers, psychologists, sociologists and other academics.
Interestingly few researchers have studied Asian American and speciﬁcally Korean

American adolescents’ alcohol use and abuse.

Korean American adolescents are not well-known for alcohol use or abuse. They
are part of the “model minority’ stereotype of Asian Americans. Previous research
suggests that adolescents’ alcohol use is inﬂuenced by academic performance, peer
alcohol use, parental inﬂuence and family environments, as well as their psychological
wellbeing. Few researchers have studied issues how they are associated with Korean
American adolescents’ alcohol use. My intent is to examine factors associated with
Korean American adolescents’ alcohol use and abuse that have not been studied

thoroughly elsewhere.

Studies on Asian American adolescents generally use samples that are too small
to control for major demographic variables such as age and socioeconomic status.
Consequently, not much is known about the determinants of alcohol abuse among Korean
American adolescents. We need a more systematic study, which investigates Korean
American adolescent alcohol use and examines Koreans’ cultural heritage and Korean
family values and their association with Korean American adolescents’ alcohol abuse.

This dissertation will explore: 1) what we know about Korean American

adolescent alcohol abuse: and 2) what factors are correlated with Korean American

adolescents’ alcohol abuse. It will also offer suggestions on ways to prevent Korean

American adolescent alcohol abuse.

Chapter II. Literature Review

A. Korean American Adolescents’ Alcohol Abuse
l.Alcohol Use among Asian Americans

Asian Americans typically have been considered a “model minority,” with high
rates of abstention from alcohol use and low rates of alcohol abuse. This image likely
results from the fact that few Asian Americans enter alcoholism treatment and from the
lack of research on alcohol consumption patterns among Asian Americans who might be
at risk for alcohol problems. Despite low drinking rates among Asian Americans,
substantial variations in drinking behavior exist among different Asian subgroups. For
example, Kitano and Chi (1985) found that Japanese Americans and Chinese Americans
had more drinkers than abstainers and Filipino Americans and Korean Americans had
more abstainers than drinkers. The rate of heavy drinking also differed greatly among
Asian subgroups, with the highest proportions of heavy drinkers found among Japanese
Americans followed by Filipino Americans, Korean Americans, and Chinese Americans
(Sasao, 1991).

Pronounced gender differences in alcohol use exist among Asian Americans with
Asian American women being much more likely to abstain or use less alcohol than their
male counterparts (Chi, Lubben, & Kitano, 1989; Kitano & Chi, 1985). Drinking rates
range from as high as 67 % among Japanese American women and 52 % among
Cambodian American women to as low as 18 % among Korean American women and 20
% among Filipino American women (Kitano & Chi, 1985).

Researchers suggest that low alcohol use among Asian Americans is related to

cultural values, such as the inﬂuence of Confucian and Taoist philosophies on Chinese,
Korean, and Japanese drinking styles. The emphasis on conformity and harmony in those
philosophies is believed to promote moderate drinking habits and sanctions against
drunkenness (Sue, Kitano, Hatanako, & Yeung, 1985). Drinking in most Asian cultures
takes place in prescribed social situations, which may limit the likelihood of alcohol
abuse (Kitano, Chi, Rhee, Law, & Lubben, 1992).

Stress and social adjustment experienced by Asian immigrants might be
contributing factors to alcohol use among Asian Americans. Lin, Masuda, and Tazurna
(1984) found that recent Asian American immigrants experience stress because of
economic hardship, occupational problems, acculturation difficulties, and social isolation.
Exposure to such stressors may contribute to increased alcohol use. In a study of
Southeast Asian refugees, Yee and Thu (1987) found that approximately 45 % of
respondents reported having problems with alcohol use, and a large proportion of the

sample considered alcohol use an acceptable way to cope with stressful situations.

2. Alcohol Abuse among Asian American Adolescents
The growth of the Asian American population in the United States over the last
few decades necessitates research on Asian Americans, Asian American families, and
more speciﬁcally Asian American adolescents’ alcohol abuse. Most research on
American adolescents’ alcohol use and abuse has not examined drinking patterns among
Asian American. For example, Monitoring the Future (Johnston, O’Malley, & Bachman,

2005), the largest annual survey of American adolescents’ alcohol and other drug use,

10

listed White, Black, Hispanic, and Other in surveying demographic subgroups, Asian
American are simply group under the “Other” category. The National Household Survey
on Drug Abuse (Wright & Sathe, 2006), another large annual survey, listed Hispanic,
White, Black, and all other races as others in answering a race/ethnicity questionnaire,
blending Asians into the broad “other” category, again ignoring Asian categories.
Neither of these large research projects look speciﬁcally at Asian American alcohol and
other drug use, illustrating the need for more speciﬁc studies.

Acculturation to mainstream American culture could be expected to encourage
Asians to adopt American drinking patterns. Li and Rosenblood (1994) showed that
recent Asian immigrants tended to drink more than their parents and that they have less
rigid values than their parents. This supported by Johnson, Nagoshi, Ahem, Wilson and
Yuen (1987) who found that Asians born in the United States have higher rates of alcohol
use than Asians born in their ancestral homelands.

Depression was a signiﬁcant factor in predicting Asian American adolescents’
alcohol abuse (Otsuki, 2003). It can be hypothesized that Asian American adolescents
experience depression and stress because of their need to adjust or acculturate to
mainstream American culture and pressure from their parents to excel in academic

performance.

3. Structural factors associated with Asian American Adolescents’
Alcohol Abuse: Economic Status and Family Structure

Asian Americans have had occupational and educational success in the United

States. Asian Americans have long been stereotyped as the “model minority” (Peterson,

11

1966). A “model minority” is seen as a group that “plays by the rules,” works hard and
achieves success. Asian Americans perform better in school than any other minority
group. Family values, family socioeconomic status, and acculturation process have been
important factors in Asian American students’ academic success (Goyette & Xie, 1999).

Socioeconomic analysis explains ethnic variations in students’ educational
achievement by marital status, parental education, and income levels. In trying to
understand how family background affects students’ academic achievement, Coleman
(1988) suggested examining how parents’ ﬁnancial and human capital is translated into
actions that may help students develop their own human capital. He used the concept of
social capital to describe these actions.

The stability of parents’ marital status supports children’s academic performance,
social adjustment, and psychological stability. Asian American families have strong
family bonds and Asian Americans have a much lower divorce rate than other ethnic
groups (Knox & Schacht, 1999). Blair and Qian (1998) found that the frequency of
single parent households is low in the general Asian American population. Fewer than
10 % of Asian American were separated, widowed, or divorced, compared to 19 % of
the total population (U .8. Census Bureau, 2004). Family stability may be a protective

factor against alcohol abuse among Asian American adolescents.

4. Parental Education and Asian American Adolescents’ Success
Higher parental education affects educational performance among Chinese and
Korean students (Blair & Qian, 1998). Parental participation in and support of school

activities has been a critical element in students’ academic success (Cummins, 1986).

12

Korean American parents place great emphasis on their children’s successful academic
achievement and often support school activities.

Kasinitz, Mollenkope, and Waters (2004) studied educational attainment among
second generation New Yorkers and found second generation Korean Americans had the
highest educational attainment among all those studied. There was strong correlation
between parental educational achievement and student academic achievement.

Kim (2004) found that the fathers of the second generation students are highly
educated: 38 % of the fathers had undergraduate degrees and 42 % had earned graduate
degrees. This also indicates the selectivity of Korean immigrants. Many Korean
American immigrants came from middle class and educated backgrounds. Their
educational and economic backgrounds were higher than that of most of other migrant
nationalities.

The 2000 US Census (2004) reported that a higher percentage of Asian
Americans held bachelor’s degree than any other group. Nearly 44 % of Asian
Americans had bachelors’ degrees compared to 24 % of the total population of the United
States. Asian American also had higher incomes. The median family income of Asian
American in 1999 was $59,324, compared to $50,046 for all American families. The
Asian American farnilies’ ﬁnancial success is correlated with their children’s academic

success (Anguiano, 2004).

13

5. Korean American Family Life and Cultural Factors

First generation Korean Americans have exceptionally high rates of self-
employment. Min (1996) reported that about 35 percent of ﬁrst generation Korean
Americans are self-employed. Kim (2001) found 43 percent of ﬁrst generation fathers
were self-employed compared to 11 percent of the second generation. The substantial
drop in self-employment from the ﬁrst generation to the second generation indicates a
rapid exit from the ethnic economy. Many ﬁrst generation parents spend long, stressful
hours in their shops and are hence sometimes unable to supervise their children properly.
The working environment of self-employed Korean parents could function as a risk factor
for Korean American adolescents’ alcohol abuse. The long hours of work required to
operate small business limits the time and energy of Korean American parents to
supervise their children. The association between the self-employment of Korean
American parents and their children’s possible alcohol abuse is speculative.

Self-employed parents are reluctant to have their children pursue selfoemployment
since they understand the hardships and challenges of running small businesses (Min,
198 8). Korean American parents value high status professional occupations (Abelmann
& Lie, 1995; Min, 1998). Both the desire for social status and the pragmatism of ﬁrst
generation parents inﬂuence children (Abelmann & Lie, 1995). Kim (2004) suggested
that the ﬁrst generation’s difficulties led them to believe that professional occupations
would better shield second generation Korean Americans from discrimination and thus
provide a solid entry into the middle class.

Cultural analysis explains ethnic variations in students’ achievements by focusing

on culturally prescribed values. Most Asian Americans come from Confucian cultures

14

which stress the importance of education. It emphasizes that the person must be educated
for self development. Traditionally, only educated people become social elite in
Confucian cultures. Consequently, Asian parents strongly support their children’s
education.

Fej gin (1995) found Jewish and Asian students had better academic records than
students from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. He suggested their “social capital” or
cultural backgrounds might explain their success. Sue and Okazaki (1990) argued that
educational achievement among Asian American students is best understood as a
function of Asians’ perception of the relative valuation of education as a means of
upward mobility. Lee (1987) explained the academic success of Chinese, Korean, and
Japanese American adolescents by their cultural characteristics. Mordkowitz and
Ginsburg (1987) also supported cultural factors as the main determinants of Asian
American adolescents’ academic success. Theses researches suggested that culture
background is important and related to the behaviors and adjustments of Asian American
adolescents.

Parents of Korean American students urge their children to have success in school
and want them to have a professional occupation and high academic achievements. First
generation Korean families are likely to come from the Korean middle class and they
have a high level of marital stability, education and ﬁnancial resources compared to other
minority ethnic groups. Their cultural values support Korean American adolescents’
academic success. It is important to understand that if Korean American adolescents do
not meet parental expectations for academic achievement, their mental health or

psychological adjustment could be at risk. Way and Chen (2000) explain Asian

15

American students were more likely to report depression, low self-esteem, and poor

ﬁiendships than were the African American and Latino students.

6. Alcohol Abuse among Korean American Adolescents

For the Korean population as a whole, the Korean attitude toward alcohol is bimodal.
Some Koreans have permissive attitudes toward alcohol consumption, especially with
regard to male drinking, whereas a large number of Koreans abstain from drinking
altogether. Reports of per capita alcohol consumption in Korea indicate that it has one of
the highest levels of drinking in the world (Park, Oh, & Lee, 1998). Generalizing from
the Korean population in South Korea to Korean Americans requires caution, it does
seem that Koreans’ heavy drinking patterns have continued in the United States.
According to Zane and Kim (1994), Korean Americans reported heavy use of alcohol,
second only to that of Japanese Americans. Parrish (1995) found that while Korean
Americans abstain from alcohol use more than other Asian Americans, they had the

highest rates of heavy drinking among those who did consume alcohol.

Nakashima and Wong (2000) studied Korean American adolescents’ alcohol use and
abuse in California and found that a majority of male and females Korean American
adolescents had consumed alcohol in their lifetimes (66.3 % of females and 75.3 % of
males). 23.1 % of females and 31.1 % of males had been drunk in their lifetimes and that
19.7 % of females and 24 % males had been drunk in the past year. Monitoring the
Future, an ongoing national survey of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American
secondary school students, college students, and young adults, surveyed their alcohol use.

Compared to national sample of students surveyed in MTF (Johnston, O’Malley, &

16

Bachman, 2003), Korean American adolescents had more alcohol than average American
adolescents. In the twelfth grade 83 % of Korean American adolescents consumed
alcohol compared to 78 % of other adolescents. Half of Korean American adolescents
who had used alcohol reported that they consumed alcohol with friends at least once in
the past twelve months. A sizable minority of Korean American adolescents (19.9%)
who have abused alcohol reported that they suffered at least one negative consequence.
Passing out (11.8 %), breaking something (11.8 %), and ﬁghting with other adolescents

(10.5 %) were the three most frequently cited negative consequences of alcohol abuse.

Researchers have demonstrated that acculturation is an important factor associated
with alcohol abuse among Korean American adolescents (Unger et al., 2000; Hahm,
Lahiff, & Guterman, 2003). Gordon (1964) deﬁned acculturation as a process by which
members of an immigrant group gradually adopt behaviors and attitudes from the host
society. The adoption of dominant American values and modes of behavior such as
individualism, equality, and attention to the nuclear family has been viewed as the main
reason for abandonment of the extended family system, characteristic of Asian culture
(Hofstede, 2001). Immigrant families may experience pervasive feelings of anxiety and
loss of control as they acculturate to American society, leading to loss of identity (Keefe,

1980).

During the acculturation process, adolescents are at special risk because adolescence
is a crucial period in which an individual establishes his or her identity and autonomy.
Korean American adolescents strive to be accepted by their peers and learn to behave

according to peer cultures. To be acculturated by peers means they must learn to behave

17

according to peer cultures and adopt their peers’ attitudes, behaviors, and style of dress,

resulting in stress and dissonance (Harris, 1995).

Korean American adolescents quickly learn that American cultural values and
behaviors are positively rewarded in interactions with peers in social and school settings.
In order to be successful in school in the United States, Korean American adolescents are
expected to develop the ability to function in an individualistic culture which values
creativity, self-expression, and competence rather than Korean values (Confucian values)
of harmony and cohesiveness, which are maintained by obedience, silence, and self-
effacement. Korean American adolescents may therefore interact less with their own
parents. The functional necessity of adopting U.S. cultural values leads to an increased
reliance on peers as a source of behavior codes and values (Akers & Lee, 1996; Harris,

1995).

18

B. Theories relating to Korean American Adolescents’ Alcohol Abuse

Among those factors associated with Korean American adolescent alcohol abuse, ﬁve
factors appear to be the most important in terms of their negative consequences: family
inﬂuences, peer influences, acculturation inﬂuences, self-concept, and perceived racial
discrimination. These factors are theoretically based on family system theory, peer

cluster theory, and acculturation theory respectively.

1. Family Systems Theory and Family Inﬂuences

Family systems theory has been used by researchers to understand adolescent
alcohol abuse (Reilly, 1984; Levine, 1985). In family systems theory, families rigidly
resist accommodating to the developmental demands of adolescent. They cling to a “time
honored” homeostasis rather than accept change and a new family order adapted to the
developmental needs of their adolescent offspring. Rather than accepting adolescents’
testing of family rules and limits as normal, transitional families see these developments

as threats.

Family systems theory traces the origins of adolescent alcohol and other drug
abuse to speciﬁc problems in family functioning. According to family systems theory,
adolescent substance abuse is the result of family dysfunction in the areas of cohesion
and the family’s inability to adapt to changing circumstances. Interpersonal relationships
between family members of adolescent alcohol abusers are believed to be poorly

differentiated and their families are seen as resistant to the changing needs of their

19

adolescent (Reilly, 1984; Levine, 1985). Alcohol abuse is seen as a “symptom” of family
dysfunctioning. When a family is highly resistant to change — particularly the kinds of
changes that impact the psychological growth of children at critical junctures in their

development, harm may result.

Family system theorists argue that families must renegotiate many of established ways of
functioning if they are to promote the psychological grth of adolescent offspring
(Garcia-Preto, 1988; Ackerman, 1980). The developmental needs of adolescents require
that his or her family change, in a fundamental way, the nature of the family system.
When such changes are successfully negotiated, they are adaptive for the family as a unit
as well as its individual members. Where such change is absent, adolescents are at risk of
becoming substance abusers (Levine, 1985; Kaufman, 1985). Studies have consistently
found that adolescents from disfunctional families are more likely to become substance
abusers (Kandel & Andrews, 1987; Jessor & Jessor, 1977; Brook, Cohen, Whiteman, &
Gordon, 1992; White, Pandina, & LaGrange, 1987). The absence of family support is

contributing factor to adolescents’ alcohol abuse.

Parental alcohol use, parental closeness and involvement, parental monitoring and
supervision, and parents’ norms and values about adolescent drinking have all been
shown to be factors inﬂuencing adolescents’ alcohol abuse (Barnes, Farrell, & Banerjee,
1995; Brody, Flor, Hollett-Wright, McCoy, & Donovan, 1999; Coombs, Paulson, &
Richardon, 1991). Research indicates that family emotional closeness and support and
parental monitoring and supervision are inversely related to adolescents’ alcohol abuse
(Barnes, Farrell, & Banerjee, 1995; Peterson, Hawkins, Abbott, & Catalano, 1995). In

contrast, parental alcohol use is positively associated with adolescent alcohol use (Kandle

20

& Andrew, 1987; Peterson, Hawkins, Abbott, & Catalano, 1995). There have been some
revealing ﬁndings regarding alcohol use among adolescent offspring of heavy drinking
parents. Zhang, Welete, and Wieczorek (1997) investigated the effects of parental
drinking and closeness on adolescent drinking. The authors measured mother’s drinking,
father’s drinking, closeness to mother, and closeness to father and found that father’s
drinking and closeness to mother were signiﬁcantly related to adolescent drinking, while
mother’s drinking and closeness to father had no signiﬁcant effects on adolescent
drinking. Pandina and Johnson (1989) found that the experience of negative
consequences due to drinking among adolescents was associated with having a heavy
drinking parent (as was coming from a distressed family environment). Ellickson and
Hays (1991) found that frequency of parental alcohol or other drug use was a risk factor
for frequency of heavy alcohol use in their study of the seventh grade students. Similar
results were found in a Korean study of adolescent alcohol abuse by Weatherspoon, Park,
and Johnson (2001), where Korean parents’ alcoholism increased the risk of alcohol

abuse in offspring.

Other research found that parental monitoring is a preventive factor for adolescent
alcohol abuse (Barnes et al., 1995; Beck, Ko, & Scaffa , 1997). Indirect parental
monitoring inﬂuences the adolescents’ awareness of and commitment to parental norms
and beliefs about alcohol use (Conger & Rueter, 1996; Hawkins et al., 1997). Barnes and
Farrell (1992) examined the effects of parental practices (parental support, parental
monitoring, and speciﬁc behavioral rules) on adolescent outcomes (drinking,
delinquency, and illicit drug use) and found that parental monitoring was the strongest

predictor of adolescent behaviors. Speciﬁcally, the strongest levels of parental

21

monitoring were directly related to the lowest levels of adolescent drinking, illicit drug
use, and delinquency. Asian American adolescents, including Korean American
adolescents, raised in families with loose parental monitoring were at risk for later
alcohol abuse (Catalano et al., 1992). Parental monitoring of adolescent alcohol abuse
appeared to be protective factors for Asian adolescents. Theses studies show that
adolescent alcohol abuse is associated with a number of family factors, including parental
support and control or monitoring, family dysﬁrnction, a family’s ability to change,
family cohesion, and parental alcohol use. Family inﬂuences on adolescent alcohol abuse
result from the family interactions and the accumulation of past and current family
inﬂuences. Similar results were found in studies of adolescents in Korea (Weatherspoon
et al., 2001). Korean adolescents who came from disturbed families in which they

experienced abuse or witnessed wife abuse were at high risk of alcohol abuse.

In conclusion, family inﬂuences are important correlates of Korean American
adolescents’ alcohol abuse. To have a better understanding of family inﬂuences on
Korean American adolescents’ alcohol abuse, we need more systematic studies designed

to explore this population.

2. Peer Cluster Theory and Peer Inﬂuences
Peer cluster theory proposes that adolescents who experience trouble at school
tend to ﬂock together and form peer groups. These peer groups ﬁrrther encourage,
support, and normalize deviant behaviors such as drug use or delinquent behaviors
(Oetting and Beauvais, 1986). Oetting and Beauvais (1986, 19903) demonstrated that

association with alcohol using peers directly inﬂuenced adolescents’ involvement in

22

alcohol use. In addition, association with alcohol using peers mediates other indirect

inﬂuences against alcohol use from such as families, schools, or religion.

Peer cluster theory is a lifestyle theory rooted in psychosocial theories. In peer
cluster theory, there are underlying conditions that may increase or decrease the
probability of adolescent’s alcohol abuse. Many of these characteristics relate to the
adolescent’s environment — factors such as peers, the family, and characteristics of the
community in which the adolescent resides. Others factors are internal to the person —
personality traits, needs, values, and beliefs. These social and psychological variables

interact and inﬂuence adolescents’ susceptibility to alcohol abuse.

Peer cluster theory contends that small, identiﬁable peer clusters determine where,
when, and how drugs including alcohol are used and that these clusters speciﬁcally help
shape attitudes and beliefs about drugs. Peer cluster theory is very useﬁrl for
understanding adolescent drug use. When adolescents use alcohol, it is almost always a
direct reﬂection of their peer groups. Friends, acquaintances, and siblings provide
alcohol and teach the young person how to use them. Peers shape attitudes about drugs,
provide the social contexts for drug use, and when young people share their ideas, help
form the rationales that the youth used to explain and excuse drug use. Eventually small
groups form and the members use drugs together at particular times and places and share
the same ideas, values, and beliefs about drugs. These groups are peer clusters, and
within them drugs play an important part in deﬁning the group, in maintaining its

structure, and in shaping its actions.

Peer groups are formal and informal groups that an adolescent is associated with.

They often provide the context in which peer cluster develop. Peer clusters are usually

23

smaller subsets — tight, cohesive groupings - in which clearly deﬁned attitudes and
shared behaviors mark membership. Although peer cluster theory emphasizes the critical
role played by these clusters, it does not negate the importance of other psychological

characteristicsas factors that underlie peer clusters and create the potential for drug use.

Studies have identiﬁed the powerful inﬂuence of peers on adolescent alcohol
abuse. Peer inﬂuence refers to direct peer pressure such as actual offers of drinking and
afﬁliation with alcohol using peers (Bentler, 1992). Speciﬁcally, peer inﬂuence occurs
when adolescents associate with peers who drink, since the groups provide role models,
establish drinking as normative, and increase the availability of alcohol (Hawkins,
Catalano, & Miller, 1992). The single best predictor of adolescent alcohol abuse is the
extent to which one associates with other adolescents who abuse alcohol (Akers, 1992;

Brook, Brook, Gordon, Whiteman, & Cohen 1990).

Adolescents with close friends who drink are more likely to use alcohol that those
with friends who do not drink (N ewcomb &Bentler, 1988). Simon-Mortons, Haynie,
Crump Eitel, and Saylor (2001) examined peer inﬂuence on smoking and drinking using
a sample of 4,263 middle school students. They found that students who had been
offered alcohol (indicating peer pressure) were 1.48 times more likely to drink than
students who had not been offered alcohol. The authors also found that students with one
ﬁiend who drank were not signiﬁcantly more likely to drink, but those with two or more
ﬁiends who drank were 4.52 times more likely to drink than those with no drinking
friends. These ﬁndings underscored the strong inﬂuences that afﬁliation with alcohol

using peers can have on adolescent alcohol abuse.

24

Nakashima and Wong (2000) found that Korean American adolescents’ alcohol
abuse is heavily inﬂuenced by peers, particularly peer encouragement of getting drunk.
Korean American adolescents who have friends’ strong encouragement to get drunk are
17. 94 times more likely to be alcohol abusers, whereas American adolescents are only

7.16 times more likely to abuse alcohol.

White, Pandina, and LaGrange (1987) reported male subjects who had
signiﬁcantly poorer academic performance than others, were Signiﬁcantly at risk for
developing alcohol abuse problems. Ellickson and Hays (1991) found that poor
academic performance predicted heavy alcohol use one year later in their sample of
almost two thousand seventh grade students. Poor academic performance has also been
identiﬁed as an important risk factor in longitudinal studies of alcohol abuse (Hawkins et
al., 1992). Poor school adjustment and performance, and peer encouragement to drink
were related to alcohol abuse in Nakashima and Wong’s (2000) study of Korean
American and Caucasian adolescents. Conversely, a positive school experience was

associated with less alcohol use.

Studies in Korea also found an association between poor school performance and
peer inﬂuence in adolescent alcohol abuse. Students with low academic achievement are
at higher risk of having peers who abuse alcohol than are those with higher academic
achievement (Kim, 1993; Pak, 1999). Kim (1993) found that poor academic
performance and peer related variables such as “hanging out” with friends after school,
having drug using ﬁiends, perceived peer pressure to use drugs, and susceptibility to peer

pressure, were powerful predictors of Korean adolescents’ alcohol abuse.

25

The dominant variable in Korean American adolescent alcohol use is most likely
the inﬂuence of peers with whom an adolescent associates. Peers shape attitudes about
alcohol use and they may provide alcohol and share the social context for alcohol use.
Since peers share similar ideas, values, and beliefs about alcohol, they strongly inﬂuence

adolescents’ decisions to use alcohol.

3. Acculturation Theory and Acculturation Inﬂuences

Acculturation theory deals with the process by which minority group members
change and become more like majority group members (Szapocznik & Kurtines, 1980).
Acculturation occurs in the context of the immigration experience, and families are
highly vulnerable to stressful life events during this process. Immigrants experience
“acculturative stress” due to the loss of social support in the form of family ties and close
interpersonal relationships. The immigration process disrupts attachments to social
networks in the previous society and imposes the task of incorporation into primary
groups of the new society. Acculturation stress may increase the risk of adolescents’

alcohol abuse (Landale, Oropesa, Llanes, & Gorman, 1999).

Two interacting forces inﬂuence Korean-Americans’ experiences: their Korean
heritage and the American environment. For the offspring of Korean immigrants,
adolescents’ potential generational conﬂicts with their parents may become complicated
by issues that are both general to acculturation to the United States and speciﬁc to the
Confucian-based Korean culture (Kim, 1989; Lee & Lee, 1990). Many Korean-
American adolescents may struggle to follow their parents’ Confucian values at home

while learning Western values at school. This experience of responding to two different

26

and sometimes conﬂicting sets of norms may lead many Korean-Americans to feel a
distressing sense of uncertainty in establishing standards of thinking, feeling, and

behaving (Kahng, 1990).

In schools, Korean-American adolescents feel the additional pressure of living
under the model minority myth. Korean American adolescents’ status as part of the
model minority may hinder Korean American adolescents from participating with their
fellow students in school social activities. Korean American students are stereotyped as
one-dimensional students who dismiss non-academic activities. In reality, Korea
American adolescents are involved in many extracurricular and social activities. The
model minority myth also has psychological effects on Korean American adolescents.
Many Korean American “whiz kids” may become anxious and depressed ﬁ'om parental
pressure to succeed in school. In addition, when educators stereotype Korean American
students as members of the “model minority,” they potentially emphasize only the
academic success and ignore their psychosocial and educational needs. Students labeled
as the “model minority” may get less attention from their teachers than other students
because they are presumed to have no problems in school. This may increase the risk of

Korean American adolescents’ alcohol abuse (I-Iu, 1989; Hurh & Kim, 1989).

Since socialization and social learning always occur in a cultural context, it is
possible that what we learn in a particular cultural context may not help us adapt to a new
culture. The stress of cultural adaptation may result in anxiety and social conﬂict. For
adolescents, the cultural discontinuities between the interpersonal contexts of the family
and the school represent risk factors that may lead to alcohol abuse. Social behaviors,

including drinking in party settings, frequently represent formal or informal rules, which

27

may be very different from those learned in the family. If adolescents lack the skills
required to transfer interpersonal skills to the new social setting and the setting itself
provides few opportunities to learn effective ways to interact, problem drinking may
develop, especially if the setting is to make alcohol beverages very easily available in
order to promote consumption.

Once Korean American individuals or families start interacting with new social
and cultural conditions, an acculturation process begins in which people develop patterns
of behavior aimed at adopting the ways and customs of the host culture. This acquisition
of other social customs in the United States, with its emphasis on individualization and
competition, may be achieved at the expense of losing traditional family cohesiveness,
closeness, and mutual support and may put Korean American adolescents a serious risk
for alcohol abuse and other negative outcomes (O’Nell & Mitchell, 1996). Some studies
have found that those who are highly acculturated to American social values are more
likely to abuse alcohol and other substances (Balcazar, Peterson, & Cobas, 1996;

Farabee, Walisch, & Maxwell, 1995).

Acculturated adolescents, who feel more comfortable with English than the
language of their parents, must deal with ongoing frustration and obstacles in expressing
their thoughts and feelings to their parents. As a result, the lack of meaningful
communication between parents and Korean American adolescents is often perceived by
adolescents as an absence of parental interest and involvement in their lives. Highly
acculturated second generation Korean American adolescents may feel that they are less
understood by their parents than unacculturated ﬁrst generation Korea American

adolescents (Phinney, 1990).

28

In addition to not having good communications and relationship with their
parents, highly acculturated Korean American adolescents also face struggles to choose
between the values of their parents and the values of American society and their peers
without necessarily getting assistance to negotiate these contradictions (Ying, Lee, &
Tsai, 2001). More acculturated adolescents develop a strong sense of separation from
their parents and their parents’ cultural values, which may lead to an increased reliance
on peers as a source of behavior codes and values (Harris, 1999). Therefore, more
acculturated Korean American adolescents who are weakly attached to their parents and
their parents’ cultural values may have an increased susceptibility to alcohol use
(Szapocznik & Kurtines, 1980). Nakashima and Wong (2000) suggested with caution
that place of birth may also be an important indicator of the level of Korean American
adolescents’ acculturation. They found that U.S.-bom Korean American adolescents
were two or three times more likely to abuse alcohol than Korean-born Korean American

adolescents.

Delinquent behaviors during adolescence are relatively common in Western
cultures compared with Asian cultures, even among those individuals who were well-
behaved during childhood and who become law-abiding adults. Oetting and Beauvais’s
cultural identiﬁcation theory (1990b) also implies that low levels of cultural identiﬁcation
are associated with negative personal adjustment, and having fewer personal and social
resources which are likely to increase the vulnerability for alcohol abuse among Korean

American adolescents.

29

4. Adolescents’ Self—concepts and Self-esteem

Self-esteem is narrowly deﬁned as “pride of oneself” (Morris, 1976), while self-
concept is deﬁned in broader terms. Self-concept has been often examined in regard to
adolescent alcohol abuse. Researchers found that self-concept was consistently related to
adolescent alcohol abuse (Towberman & McDonald,1993; Slicker, Patton, & Fuller,
2004)

Towberman and McDonald (1993) found that adolescents’ high levels of self-
conﬁdence as part of a strong self-concept was signiﬁcantly related to lower frequency of
alcohol use. Conversely, a negative self-concept was associated with increased alcohol
use.

Changes in adolescents’ self-image are linked to gender role identity development
rather than to a more general process linked to adolescent development in both girls and
boys (Gilligan, 1990). Eccles, Bonnie, Jozefowicz, Malenchuk, and Vida (1999)
indicated the patterns of self-image are congruent with gender role stereotypes. They
found that with increasing age, adolescents come to hold gender role stereotypic views of
their abilities and interests. Females reported symptoms of low self-esteem and
depression and boys reported either being victimized or engaging in aggressive and
physically risky behaviors.

Self-esteem refers to an individual’s evaluation of herself, including feelings of
self-worth (Coopersmith, 1967; Rosenberg, 1979). Kaplan (1975) and J ang and
Thomberry (1998) suggest that adolescents with low self-esteem are predisposed to
engage in risky behaviors such as drug and alcohol abuse. These studies suggest that

raising adolescents’ self-esteem would help protect them adopting from risky behaviors.

3O

Gordon and Caltabiano (1996) and Scheier, Botvin, Grifﬁn, and Diaz (2000) showed that
low self-esteem is signiﬁcantly associated with adolescent alcohol abuse which included
frequent alcohol use and attendant problems.

Eccles, Bonnie, Jozefowicz, Malenchuk, and Vida (1999) showed that
psychologically protective factors such as positive self-concepts competence in academic
and nonacademic domains, were associated with positive changes in self-esteem. Rating
of one’s physical attractiveness, math ability, and peer social ability yielded the strongest
coefficients for both girls and boys. Physical attractiveness related to adolescents’ self-
esteem was the only major gender difference. Conﬁdence in one’s physical appearance
was much important factor for adolescent girls’ self-esteem than adolescent boys’.

Wild, F lisher, Bhana, and Lombard (2004) studied adolescents’ self-esteem in six
domains: peers, school, family, sports/athletics, body image, and global self-worth and
how it is associated with risky behaviors including alcohol abuse. They found that
speciﬁc self-esteem domains were not unifonnly related to speciﬁc risky behaviors. Low
self-esteem with respect to both school and family was associated with increased risk of
alcohol abuse for both sexes and increased risk of drug use for girls.

Laukkanen, Shemeikka, Vinamaki, Polkki, and Lehtonen (2001) investigated
Finnish adolescent alcohol abuse associated with self-esteem. They found that the self-
images of adolescents who drank heavily were more negative than those of alcohol
abstinent adolescents. Alcohol abusing adolescents had worse academic performance
than abstriners. Heavy drinking was associated with negative self-image. Moderate
drinking was associated with a positive self-image in social relationships, academics and

abstinence from drugs.

31

Lord, Eccles, and McCarthy (1994) suggested that personal coping resources are
the key protective inﬂuences for adolescents’ self-esteem in stressful situations. Personal
resources include a relatively stable personality and attitudinal, and cognitive dispositions
that promote effective adaptation, thereby reducing the potentially harmful effects of
stress (Fenzel, 1991). Lord et al. (1994) proposed that a sense of autonomy, a sense of
personal efﬁcacy, and conﬁdence in one’s abilities were the personal coping resources
most likely to buffer against the detrimental effects of adolescents’ stressful transitional
periods. They assumed that perceptions of one’s abilities would be especially relevant to
adolescents’ self-esteem. Several studies support a connection between self—esteem and
perceived self-competence. For example, Bohmstedt and F elson (1983) showed that
perceived academic and athletic competences are positive predictors of adolescents’ self-
esteem. Harter (1997) also showed perceived competence in academic, social, athletic,
and physical appearance domain is positively related to self-esteem.

Unforhmately, these issues have not been studied in detail for Asian Americans
and speciﬁcally, not for Korean Americans. Only Otsuki (2003) found a relationship

between low esteem among female Asian adolescents and alcohol abuse.

5. Perceived Racial Discrimination
Rosenbloom and Way (2004) reported that Asian American adolescents
experienced discrimination from their peers, while African American and Latino
adolescents experienced discrimination ﬁ'om adults in positions of authority such as

teachers and police ofﬁcers. Asian American students reported physical and verbal

32

harassment by peers. Peer discrimination may have less negative effects on academic
and career outcome than adult discrimination. However, peer discrimination may have
very serious effects on peer relations and psychological adjustment.

Fisher, Wallace, and Fenton (2000) found that Asian American adolescents
encountered peer discrimination most frequently among African American, Hispanic,
East Asian, South Asian, and non-Hispanic white peers. Although reports of peer racial
discrimination were highest among adolescents of East and South Asian origin, a high
percentage of adolescents from all ethnic groups reported being called racially insulting
names and being excluded ﬁ'om activities because of race. They reported that self-esteem
scores of East and South Asian American adolescents were signiﬁcantly lower than those
of African American peers. They also found that low levels of self-esteem were
signiﬁcantly associated with higher levels of distress in response to perceived
discrimination in education and peer contexts.

Way and Chen (2000) identiﬁed that Asian American adolescents were more
likely to report depression, low self-esteem, and poor friendships than African American
and Latino American adolescents. Asian American adolescents may have experienced
negative effects on their psychological and social well-being because of discrimination
by peers.

Minority adolescents may experience negative self-concept from continuous
encounters with discriminatory exclusion from opportunities and racially prejudiced
attitudes (Spencer, 1999; Steele, 1997). Some parents of minority adolescents implement
a reactive socializing style, which prepares children for racial barriers by emphasizing

racism awareness (Hughes & Chen, 1997; Stevenson, 1997). Other parents adopt a

33

proactive stance, educating their children to be proud of their race as a means of
developing coping styles to deal with discriminatory practice and its negative effects
(Phinney & Chavira, 1995). Researchers have suggested that both reactive socializing
style and proactive stances of parents could protect minority adolescents from negative
effects of racial discrimination, and result in a greater sense of personal efﬁcacy and self-
esteem (Hughes & Chen, 1997; Stevenson, 1997; Phinney & Chavira, 1995).

The more adolescents perceived anticipatory discrimination (the expectation that
one will be discriminated against), the more family conﬂict there appeared to be
(Rumbaut, 1994). Vega, Khoury, Zimmerman, Gil, and Warheit (1995) also suggested
perceived discrimination of adolescents was associated with behavior problems including
alcohol abuse.

In summary, Asian American and/or Korean American adolescents experience the
same issues related to their development and growth as other adolescents. They may
experience low self-esteem or “self-concept.” In terms of cultural differences and racial
differences, these factors may contribute to alcohol misuse or abuse. I will examine the

strength of these factors in my research.

34

Chapter 111. Research Design and Method

This study will be a secondary data analysis of data taken from the1996 Asian
Student Drug Survey (Austin, 1996), which was conducted by WestEd, an educational
and social research company located in Los Alamitos, California, in collaboration with
Tri-Ethnic Center for Prevention Research, a division of the Department of Psychology at
Colorado State University. I was granted permission to use the data from the principal
investigator of the 1996 Asian Student Drug Survey (ASDS), Dr. Gregory Austin,
director of human development program at WestEd in Los Alamitos, Califomia. ASDS
was a large scale survey of American adolescents’ alcohol and drug use that sub-
categorized speciﬁc ethnic groups of Asian American adolescents.

Only the California Student Survey (California Attorney General’s Crime and
Violence Prevention Center, 2006) and the 1996 Asian Student Drug Survey (ASDS)
(Austin, 1996) classiﬁed Korean Americans as a speciﬁc ethnic group among Asian
Americans surveyed. The California Student Survey (CSS) is a study, begun in 1985, of
California students’ health-related behaviors, including drug, alcohol and tobacco use. It
is a statewide project, mandated by the California Health and Safety code. The 10th
Biennial California Student Survey (CSS), 2003-04, is the most recent CSS survey. The
California Student Surveys were managed by California Attorney General's Crime and

Violence Prevention Center and conducted by WestED.

Even though the 2003-04 California Student Survey (CSS) could provide
relatively current information on Korean American students’ alcohol use, it does not have
information that I felt was most pertinent for analyzing Korean American adolescents’

alcohol use and abuse. The 1996 American Student Drug Survey (ASDS) examined

35

factors that I felt are most important for analyzing Korean American adolescents’ alcohol
abuse. It looked at: 1) family environment variable; including family structure,
involvement of families in children’s education and school events, families’ attitudes and
involvement regarding their children’s use of alcohol and drugs, communication between
adolescents and families about the danger of using alcohol and other drugs; 2) peer
inﬂuence variables: such as ﬁiends’ academic achievement, their attitudes towards
school, their use of alcohol and drugs, and their involvement in delinquent behaviors; 3)
acculturation variables: it asked what cultural heritage the family was from, what cultural
traditions the families practiced at home, what cultural traditions students followed, and
languages spoken at home; 4) students’ positive and negative self-images, their
emotional status, and their perceived popularity; 5) perceived racial discrimination

against students and their peers.

A. Research Data
The 1996 Asian Student Drug Survey (ASDS) (Austin, 1996) surveyed 13,374
ninth-grade and twelfth-grade students in thirty-two high schools in nineteen school
districts in California that enrolled at least 25% Asian American students. Dr. Gregory
Austin, co-principal investigator of the ASDS, described the survey procedure.

Entire grade levels were surveyed in order to assess the ﬁndings on Asians in the
overall school content, and also to encourage school participation by avoiding the
problem of pulling out only one ethnic group for assessment and by enabling
researchers to provide individual school reports. Data were collected using active
parental consent procedures and project staff administered all surveys. A parent
or guardian had to confirm in writing their permission for their child’s
participation. If a form was not returned, a youth could not participate in the
survey. The consent forms (translated into ﬁve languages) were sent home with

36

the student and the classroom teachers monitored their return. To encourage high
response rates, the researchers offered school a $1.00 incentive for every form
returned, whether consent was granted or not (p. 6-7).

7,311 ninth-grade and 6,063 twelfth grade students completed the surveys. 42 %
of student were Asian American adolescents, 23 % of Caucasian Americans, 13.6% of
Latino Americans, 3.6% of African American, and 13.5 % of multi-ethnic or “mixed
race.”

“Asian” referred to those having origins in the East Asia, Southeast Asia, or the
Indian subcontinent (U .S. Census Bureau, 2004). East Asia is an eastern subregion of
Asia which encompasses China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan and Mongolia (Asia,
1997). Culturally, East Asian consists of part of the Chinese cultural sphere, which
includes the classical Chinese language, Confucianism, Mahayana Buddhism, and
Taoism (Asia, 1996). This study will focus on students of East Asia origin which will
provide an opportunity to compare alcohol use rates, peer alcohol use, parental support,
mental health, and acculturation among ethnicities with similar cultural backgrounds but
different histories of immigration to the United States. Issues associated with Korean
American adolescents’ alcohol abuse will be analyzed and compared with Chinese and

Japanese American adolescents with whom they share similar cultural backgrounds.

37

B. Research Questions

Since I have a strong interest understanding factors inﬂuencing Korean American
adolescents’ alcohol abuse, my research focused on the following questions:
1) Does family environment inﬂuence Korean American adolescents’ alcohol abuse? If
it does, does this differ from the experience other Asian American adolescents?
2) Do peers inﬂuence Korean American adolescents’ alcohol use? If they do, how does
this differ for other Asian American adolescents?
3) Does acculturation inﬂuence Korean American adolescents’ alcohol use? If it does,
how does this differ for other Asian American adolescents?
4) Do the “self-images” of Korean American adolescents, when associated with family,
peer, and acculturation variables, affect alcohol use? If they do, how does this differ
from other Asian American adolescents?
5) Does the perceived racial discrimination of Korean American adolescents, when
associated with family, peer, and acculturation variables, affect on alcohol use? If they

do, how does this differ from that of other Asian American adolescents?

C. Research variables
This study examines how family, peer, acculturation, self-image and perceived
racial discrimination inﬂuence Asian American students, including Korean American
adolescents’ alcohol use. They are used as independent variables. The dependent
variable is Asian American and Korean American adolescents’ alcohol use and abuse.

The research design is found in Figure 1.

38

Figure 1

Research Framework

Independent Variables Dependent Variable

 

Family

 

 

 

 

Peer

 

 

 

 

 

Acculturation Alcohol

Abuse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Self Image

 

 

 

 

Perceived
Racial
Discrimination

 

 

 

D. Instrument

The Asian Student Drug Survey (ASDS) that I am using examined eight
major domains: 1) demographic information; 2) alcohol, tobacco, and other drug
(ATOD) use; 3) cultural identiﬁcation or acculturation; 4) school environment; 5)
peer environment; 6) family environment; 7) mental health information (self-
esteem and depression); 8) perceived racial or ethnic discrimination. The
instrument contained 108 questions and was completed typically within the length
of one classroom period. Subjects were asked whether they belonged to
traditional ethnic categories: White, Black or African American, American Indian,
Alaska Native, Asian or Asian-American, Latino or Hispanic, or Other. Asian or
Asian-American would select membership in one of thirteen subgroups: Asian
Indian, Cambodian, Chinese (including Taiwanese), Filipino (Pilipino),
Guarnanian, Hawaiian, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Samoan, Vietnamese,
Other Asian, Asian-American or Paciﬁc Islander. Parents’ race/ethnicity was also

identiﬁed.

To conduct my research, I selected the Asian Student Drug Survey
(ASDS) data that would allow me to understand the phenomenon of Korean
American adolescents’ alcohol use and abuse. The speciﬁc questions I used are

indicated in Appendix I.

40

B. Data Analysis

I examined the relationships between family environment, peer environment, and
acculturation and adolescents’ alcohol use, and the relationship between those factors,
and self-image and racial discrimination. The descriptive analysis included statistical
analysis using frequencies, percentages, and means. T-tests were done to assess group
differences on the dependent variable, alcohol use. Anova, Analysis of Variance, was
used to investigate multi-group differences on the dependent variable. In order to
examine the reliability, Chronbach’s alpha reliability coefﬁcient was used. A regression
analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between independent variables and
dependent variable. A linear regression analysis was conducted to assess the relationship
among independent variables and the dependent variable. SPSS, the Statistical Package

for the Social Sciences, was used to conduct the data analysis.

41

Chapter IV. Findings

This chapter describes the study sample, give data on adolescents’ alcohol use and
alcohol abuse, and presents data on alcohol use by all students in the survey as well as the
experiences of Korean American students. And Korean American students’ alcohol use is
compared to that of Caucasian American, African American, and Latino American
adolescents. I also examine relationships between family, peer, acculturation, self-image
and perceived racial discrimination - the independent variables and students’ alcohol use

and abuse, the dependent variable.

A. Study Sample
13,3 74 students participated in the 1996 Asian Student Drug Survey
(ASDS, Austin, 1996). 7,311 (54.7 %) were 9th grade students, 6,063 (45.3%) were
12th grade students (Table 1); 6,239 (46.7%) were males and 7,135 (53.3 %) were
females (Table 2). 6,198 (46.3 %) were Asian Americans which included 633 (4.7 %)
Korean Americans, 2,066 (15.4 %) Chinese Americans, 1,196 (15.4 %) Filipino

Americans, 511 (3.8 %) Vietnamese Americans, and 283 (2.1 %) Japanese Americans

 

 

(Table 3).
Table 1
Grade
Cumulative
Grade Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
9 7311 54.7 54.7 54.7
12 6063 45.3 45.3 100.0
Total 13374 100.0 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

42

Table 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gender
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid male 6239 46.7 46.7 46.7
female 7135 53.3 53.3 100.0
Total 13374 100.0 100.0
Table 3

Ethnicity and Asian sub-ethnic groups

 

 

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent

Valid Chinese 2066 15.4 15.4 15.4
Filipino 1196 8.9 8.9 24.4
Korean 633 4.7 4.7 29.1
Vietnamese 51 1 3.8 3.8 32.9
Asianindian 490 3.7 3.7 36.6
Japanese 283 2.1 2.1 38.7
Cambodian 208 1 .6 1 .6 40.3
Other SE Asian 146 1.1 1.1 41.4
Paciﬁc Islander 104 .8 .8 42.1
other asian 561 4.2 4.2 46.3
White 3082 23.0 23.0 69.4
Latino 1814 13.6 13.6 83.0
Black 486 3.6 3.6 86.6
Mixed race 1275 9.5 9.5 96.1
Other 519 3.9 3.9 100.0
Total 13374 100.0 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

B. Adolescents’ Alcohol Use Across All Ethnic Groups
1. Prevalence of Alcohol Use
74 % (9,917) of students had consumed alcohol, 35 % (4,608) had “gotten
drunk” (Tables 4 and 5). 27 % (3,532) of students had gotten drunk in the last 12
months; 14 % (1,787) had gotten drunk in the last month, and 14 % (1,882) had been

drunk more than three times in the last 12 months. 5 % (627) had been drunk more than

43

three times in the last month (Tables 6, 7, 8 and 9). The propensity of drinking (drinking
behavior) is interesting. Although 74 % (9,917) admitted they used alcohol, 49 %
(6,500) consider themselves to be non-drinkers, 20 % (2,645) saw themselves as
moderate drinkers (1-2 glasses of alcohol at a time), 17 % (2,319) as more than
moderate drinkers , 10 % (1,3 79) as close to heavy drinkers, 3 % (418) as very heavy
drinkers (drank until drunk) (Table 10). 31 % (4,743) tended to drink more than 1-2
glasses of alcohol whenever they drink. It is important to note that even though drinking
ﬁve or more glasses alcohol at one time is considered binge drinking, drinking more than

2 glasses could be considered as alcohol abuse by a minor.

Table 4

Have you ever drunk alcohol?

 

 

 

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Yes 9917 74.2 74.3 74.3
No 3425 25.6 25.7 100.0
Total 13342 99.8 100.0
Missing 0 3o _2
9 2 .0
Total 32 ,2
Total 13374 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

44

 

Table 5

Have you ever gotten drunk?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid yes 4608 34.5 34.6 34.6
N0 8724 65.2 65.4 100.0
Total 13332 99.7 100.0
Missing 0 41 ,3
9 1 .0
Total 42 ,3
Total 13374 100.0
Table 6
How often have you used alcohol in the last 12 months?
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 0 5192 38.8 39.6 39.6
1-2 3156 23.6 24.1 63.7
3-9 2542 19.0 19.4 83.1
10-19 1084 8.1 8.3 91.4
20-49 688 5.1 5.2 96.6
>=50 443 3.3 3.4 100.0
Total 13105 98.0 100.0
Missing 0 263 2_o
9 6 .0
Total 269 2.0
Total 13374 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

45

 

 

Table 7

How often have you gotten drunk in the last 12 months?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 0 8304 62.1 70.2 70.2
1-2 1650 12.3 13.9 84.1
3-9 982 7.3 8.3 92.4
10-19 462 3.5 3.9 96.3
20-49 296 2.2 2.5 98.8
>=50 142 1.1 1.2 100.0
Total 1 1836 88.5 100.0
Missing 0 1537 11.5
9 1 .0
Total 1538 11.5
Total 13374 100.0
Table 8
How often have you used alcohol in the last month?
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 0 8731 65.3 66.5 66.5
1-2 2726 20.4 20.8 87.2
3-9 1323 9.9 10.1 97.3
1049 272 2.0 2.1 99.4
”20 81 .6 .6 100.0
Total 13133 98.2 100.0
Missing 0 233 1,3
9 3 .0
Total 241 1.8
Total 13374 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

46

 

 

Table 9

In the last month, how many times did you get drunk?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 0 9961 74.5 84.8 84.8
1-2 1160 8.7 9.9 94.7
3-9 498 3.7 4.2 98.9
10-19 88 .7 .7 99.7
>=20 41 .3 .3 100.0
Total 11748 87.8 100.0
Missing 0 1624 12.1
9 2 .0
Total 1626 12.2
Total 13374 100.0

 

81 % (10,898) students felt there was little or no harm in using alcohol once or
twice; 79 % (10,589) felt regular alcohol use was harmful (Tables 10 and 11); 29 %

(3,895) felt there was no or little harm in getting drunk once or twice, and 95 % (12,713)

2. Problems Caused by Alcohol Use Across All Ethnic Group

there was harm in getting drunk regularly (Tables 12 and 13).

This data indicates that many students think there is not much harm in using
alcohol occasionally as long as it is not used regularly. 29 % saw no harm in getting
drunk occasionally. This laissez-faire attitude toward alcohol abuse is problematic.
Binge drinking is problem among adolescents today and it can be seen in this data which
found 31 % (4,116) students drank more than two drinks at a time (Table 10). It is

noteworthy that there are close relationship between the number of students’ perceived

47

 

harm in getting drunk occasionally (29 %) and the number of students who consumed

more than two drinks at a time (31 %).

Table 10
Drinking behavior: adolescents’ perception of their drinking behavior

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid don't drink 6500 48.6 49.0 49.0
1-2 glasses 2645 19.8 19.9 69.0
More than
moderate 2319 17.3 17.5 86.4
Heavy user 1379 10.3 10.4 96.8
Very heavy
user 418 3.1 3.2 100.0
Total 13261 99.2 100.0
Missing 0 81 .6
9 32 .2
Total 1 13 .8
Total 13374 100.0
Table 11
Perceived harm in using alcohol once or twice
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid None 5850 43.7 44.8 44.8
Little 5048 37.7 38.6 83.4
Some 1656 12.4 12.7 96.1
a lot 516 3.9 3.9 100.0
Total 13070 97.7 100.0
Missing 0 290 2.2
9 14 .1
Total 304 2.3
Total 13374 100.0

 

 

48

 

 

Perceived harm in using alcohol regularly

Table 12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid None 431 3.2 3.3 3.3
Little 1978 14.8 15.2 18.5
Some 5282 39.5 40.6 59.2
a lot 5307 39.7 40.8 100.0
Total 12998 97.2 100.0
Missing 0 362 2.7
9 14 .1
Total 376 2.8
Total 13374 100.0
Table 13
Perceived harm in getﬂng drunk once or twice
Cumulative
Frequ_ency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid None 996 7.4 7.7 7.7
Little 2899 21 .7 22.3 30.0
Some 6220 46.5 47.9 77.8
a lot 2879 21.5 22.2 100.0
Total 12994 97.2 100.0
Missing 0 374 2.8
9 6 .0
Total 380 2.8
Total 13374 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

49

 

 

Table 14

Perceived harm in getting drunk regularly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cumulative
FrequencL Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid None 185 1.4 1.4 1.4
Little 154 1.2 1.2 2.6
some 831 6.2 6.4 9.0
a M 11882 88.8 91.0 100.0
Total 1 3052 97.6 100.0
Missing 0 311 2.3
9 1 1 .1
Total 322 2.4
Total 13374 100.0

 

 

This study asked students how often they had experienced the following problems as

negative results of alcohol abuse.

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

g)
h)

alcohol

received a “trafﬁc ticket”

involved in accident

was arrested

money problem

trouble at school

bad academic performance

drinking caused student to ﬁght with other students
drinking caused student to “ﬁght” with their parents
drinking caused damaged friendship

drinking caused pass out

drinking caused black out

drinking caused break something

There were very low incidences of problems leading to legal problems because of

abuse. 0.3 % students received “trafﬁc tickets,” 0.5 % were involved “trafﬁc

accident,” or 1.4 % were “arrested” (Table 15, 16, and 17). Problems due to students’

drinking were more common in the areas of school performance and interpersonal

conﬂicts with parents and friends.

Drinking caused “money problems” (3.9 %),

“trouble at school” (2.7 %), and “hurt academic performance” (5.9 %) (Table 18, 19, and

50

20). Drinking caused “ﬁghts with other kids” (8.7 %), “ﬁght with parents” (6.7 %),
“damaged friendship” (5.4 %) (Table 21, 22, and 23). The main problems associated
with students’ drinking were the results of excessive alcohol use such as binge drinking.
13.6 % passed out; 17.3 % of them reported “drinking caused black-out,” 10.8 % said

excessive drinking caused them to breaking something (Table 24, 25, and 26).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 15
Received a traffic ticket
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid "0 12535 93.7 99.5 99.5
1'2 46 .3 .4 99.9
3-9 6 .0 .0 100.0
”10 5 .0 .0 100.0
Total 12592 94.2 100.0
Missing 0 732 5.3
Total 13374 100.0
Table 16
Involved in an accident because of drinking
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid no 12485 93.4 99.4 99.4
1-2 67 .5 .5 99.9
3-9 6 .0 .0 100.0
>=10 4 .0 .0 100.0
Total 12562 93.9 100.0
Missing 0 312 6.1
Total 13374 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

51

 

 

 

Table 17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arrested because of drinking
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid no 12367 92.5 98.5 98.5
1-2 157 1.2 1.3 99.7
3-9 15 .1 .1 99.9
>=10 17 .1 .1 100.0
Total 12556 93.9 100.0
Missing 0 818 6.1
Total 13374 100.0
Table 18
Money problems because of drinking
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid no 12019 89.9 95.8 95.8
1-2 377 2.8 3.0 98.8
3-9 85 .6 .7 99.5
>=10 66 .5 .5 100.0
Total 12547 93.8 100.0
Missing 0 826 6.2
9 1 .0
Total 827 6.2
Total 13374 100.0
Table 19
Trouble at school because of drinking
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid no 12198 91 .2 97.2 97.2
1-2 288 2.2 2.3 99.5
3-9 39 .3 .3 99.8
>=10 29 .2 .2 100.0
Total 12554 93.9 100.0
Missing 0 317 6.1
9 3 .0
Total 820 6.1
Total 13374 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

52

 

 

 

 

Table 20

Drinking caused bad academic performance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid no 11754 87.9 93.6 93.6
1-2 588 4.4 4.7 98.3
3-9 127 .9 1.0 99.3
>=10 82 .6 .7 100.0
Total 12551 93.8 100.0
Missing 0 822 6.1
9 1 .0
Total 823 6.2
Total 13374 100.0
Table 21
Drinking caused ﬁghting with other klds
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid no 11395 85.2 90.7 90.7
1-2 858 6.4 6.8 97.5
39 209 1.6 1.7 99.2
>=10 100 .7 .8 100.0
Total 12562 93.9 100.0
Missing 0 812 6.1
Total 13374 100.0
Table 22
Drinking caused ﬁghting with parents
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid no 1 1646 87.1 92.8 92.8
1-2 685 5.1 5.5 98.3
3-9 123 .9 1.0 99.3
>=1O 91 .7 .7 100.0
Total 12545 93.8 100.0
Missing 0 828 6.2
9 1 .0
Total 829 6.2
Total 13374 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

53

 

 

 

Table 23

Drinking caused damaged friendships

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid No 11812 88.3 94.2 94.2
1-2 632 4.7 5.0 99.3
3-9 71 .5 .6 99.8
>=10 23 .2 .2 100.0
Total 12538 93.7 100.0
Missing 0 828 6.2
9 8 .1
Total 836 6.3
Total 13374 100.0
Table 24
Drinking caused passing-out
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid no 10711 80.1 85.5 85.5
1-2 1253 9.4 10.0 95.5
3-9 407 3.0 3.2 98.8
>=10 154 1.2 1.2 100.0
Total 12525 93.7 100.0
Missing 0 846 6.3
9 3 .0
Total 849 6.3
Total 13374 100.0
Table 25
Drinking caused blacklng-out
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid No 10238 76.6 81 .6 81 .6
1-2 1663 12.4 13.2 94.8
3-9 430 3.2 3.4 98.2
>=10 222 1.7 1.8 100.0
Total 12553 93.9 100.0
Missing 0 818 6.1
9 3 .0
Total 821 8.1
Total 13374 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

54

 

 

 

Table 26

Drinking caused me to break something

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent

Valid No 1 1085 82.9 88.5 88.5
1-2 1068 8.0 8.5 97.0
3-9 251 1 .9 2.0 99.0
”10 120 .9 1.0 100.0
Total 12524 93.6 100.0

Missing 0 850 6.4

Total 13374 100.0

 

 

3. Prevalence of Alcohol Abuse: Comparison between Korean
American Adolescents and other Ethnic American Adolescents
The AN OVA test, analysis of variance, indicated that there were statistically
signiﬁcant differences among some ethnic groups (between group differences) regarding
adolescents’ alcohol use. The F value, 55.37, is statistically signiﬁcant at a conﬁdence
level of .01 (table 27). The seven East Asian subgroup, e.g. Korean Americans, Chinese
Americans, Japanese Americans, Vietnamese Americans, and Caucasian Americans,

Latino Americans, and African Americans, had different experience with alcohol.

Table 27

ANOVA: Ethnic group differences on adolescents’ alcohol abuse

 

 

 

 

Sum of Mean
Squares Df Square F Sig.
Between
Groups 476.171 14 34.012 55.378 .000
Within
Groups 8056.853 13118 .614
Total 8533.024 13132

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

55

Korean and Japanese American adolescents use alcohol more frequently than
other Asian American adolescent. Korean and Japanese American adolescents do not
show signiﬁcant differences in alcohol use. The mean difference between them is very
small, -.001 which is not statistically signiﬁcant (Table 28). Vietnamese and Chinese
American adolescents are least likely to use alcohol. Korean American, Chinese
American, Japanese American, and Vietnamese American adolescents were selected for
this study because they all share a Confucian cultural backgrounds.

In looking at overall racial comparison of adolescents’ alcohol use, Caucasian
American adolescents use alcohol the most frequently, followed by Latino American,
Aﬁican American and Asian American adolescents. African American adolescents use
alcohol as much as Korean and Japanese American adolescents (the mean difference for
Aﬁican American adolescents is small and statistically insigniﬁcant) and Chinese
American and Vietnamese American adolescents are least likely use alcohol (Table 28).

It is noteworthy that other studies of adolescents’ alcohol use showed Aﬁican
American adolescents were the least likely to use alcohol compared to Caucasian and
Latin American adolescents. Asian American adolescents were not included in these

studies.

56

Multiple Ethnic group comparisons on “How often have you used alcohol in

the last month?”

Table 28

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compare Ethnic Mean Standard Significance

to Korean mups Difference Error

Korean Chinese .179(*) .036 .000
Vietnamese .177(*) .047 .000
Japanese -.001 .056 .981
White -.297(*) .034 .000
Latino -.205(*) .036 .000
Black .058 .048 .227
Mixed race -.315(*) .038 .000

 

 

 

 

 

 

* The mean difference is signiﬁcant at the .05 level.

The 1996 Asian Student Drug Survey had a “mixed race” category as a part of its
ethnicity questionnaire. 1275 students (9.5 %), “mixed race” adolescent offered unique
information about their alcohol use. They drank more than any other population. Since
they are not the boundary of this study, I did not analyze them here. It would be
worthwhile to investigate in a ﬁrture study whether or not their high rate of alcohol abuse
is pervasive or if it was one-time ﬁnding of this study.

In looking at detailed prevalence of alcohol use among seven ethnic groups, the
study found a consistent pattern that one ethnic group abuses alcohol more than other
ethnic groups. Asian American adolescents are least likely to use alcohol among four
racial groups, while Caucasian and Latino American adolescents most often use alcohol,
following African American adolescents. The study shows that 81.1 % of Caucasian
American students drank alcohol and 45.5 % had gotten drunk. 81.9 % of Latino

American students had used alcohol and 45.6 % had gotten drunk, and 77.9 % and 31.9

57

% of African American students in this respect (Table 29). Among Asian Americans, in
the “ever drank alcohol”, Korean American students (70.5 %) are most experienced with
alcohol use, followed by Japanese (68.6 %), Chinese (61.8 %), Vietnamese American
students (55.2 %). In “ever gotten drunk” measurement, Vietnamese American students
(44.8 %) are most experienced with drunkenness, followed by Korean (27.6 %), Japanese
(26.5 %), Chinese American students (13.8 %) (Table 29).

In looking at alcohol use in the “last month,” Caucasian and Latino American
adolescents used alcohol most often, followed by Koran and Japanese American students,
African American students, and Chinese and Vietnamese American students (Table 30).
In the past month, Caucasian American students got drunk most often drtmk, followed by
Latino American, African American, Korean and Japanese American, Vietnamese
American, and Chinese American students (Table 31). The frequencies of drinking for
Caucasian and Latino American students are somewhat similar, but the frequency of
“gotten drunk” for Caucasian American students is higher than Latino American students.
This fact indicates that Caucasian American students tend to do more binge drinking than
Latino American students. Caucasian American adolescents’ tendency to engage in
binge drinking more than Latino American adolescents was also found in other studies
(Wechsler & Kuo, 2003; Wechsler & Dowdall, 1998). Korean and Japanese American
students have a similar tendency in frequencies of the last month drinking and the last
month gotten drunk, whereas Chinese and Vietnamese American students also have a
similar tendency for less alcohol use compared to Korean and Japanese American
students. Korean and Japanese American students show similar drinking behaviors,

while Chinese and Vietnamese American students also show similar drinking behavior.

58

Korean and Japanese American students abuse alcohol similar rates; 17.1 % of Korean
American students and 15.9 % of Japanese American students drink 1-2 glasses in a
time, 16.6 % and 18.0 % drink enough to feel it a little, 8.2 % and 6.7 % drink enough to
feel it a lot, and 2.1 % and 2.1 % until get really drunk (Table 32). This study clearly
showes the similarity of Korean and Japanese American students’ alcohol abuse,
similarity of Chinese and Vietnamese American students’ alcohol abuse, and differences
in alcohol abuse between Korean and Japanese American students and Chinese and
Vietnamese American students. It is not clear why similarities and differences exist
among the four Asian ethnic groups with similar Confucian cultural backgrounds.
Perhaps the rate of economic development levels of Asian ethnic groups’ homeland could
be one of explanations for these seminaries and differences in alcohol abuse. Korea and
Japan are economically well developed countries and their high levels of alcohol use in
adult population are well-documented (Park, Oh, & Lee, 1998). Park et. a1. (1998)
reported that the consumption of alcohol by Korea adults has signiﬁcantly increased in
the last 40 years of strong economic development. In contrast, China and Vietnam do
not have long histories of economic development, but they share cultural backgrounds

including Confucianism and they have lower rates of alcohol abuse.

59

 

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64

C. Family Environment

Overall, 63.7 % (8,513) students’ fathers live at home and 78.9 % (10,555)
students’ mothers live at home. Fathers of Vietnamese American students live at home
most frequently (85.1 %), followed by Korean American (82.4 %), Japanese American
(80.2 %), Chinese American (79.9 5), Caucasian American (75.7 %), Latin American
(69.5 %), and African American (45.7 %). Mothers of Korean American students live at
home most frequently (94.1 %), followed by Japanese American (94.9 %), Vietnamese
American (93.8 %), Chinese American (93.4 %), Caucasian American (92.4 %), Latino
American (93.3 %), and African American (86.6 %, Table 36). Asian American
students’ fathers and mothers live at home more frequently than other ethnic groups.

Vietnamese American students’ family indicated the strongest family
involvement, parental concern, and the highest rate of “father lives at home” among the
seven ethnic groups surveyed. All Asian American students’ families (Korean, Chinese,
and Vietnamese American) showed strong “family involvement” and “parental concern”
except Japanese American families (Table 36). It is interesting to note that Japanese
American students’ families were similar to Caucasian American families in “family
involvement” and “parental concern.” Latin American students’ “family involvement”
and “parental concern” were close to those of Chinese American, Korean American, and

Vietnamese American students.

65

 

Table 34

Father lives at home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid .00 2932 21.9 25.6 25.6
1.00 8513 63.7 74.4 100.0
Total 11445 85.6 1000
Missing 99.00 1929 14.4
Total 13374 100.0
Table 35
Mother lives at home
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid .00 906 6.8 7.9 7.9
1.00 10555 78.9 92.1 100.0
Total 11461 85.7 100.0
Missing 99.00 1913 14.3
Total 13374 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

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67

D. Multivariate Analysis

The regression analyses looked only at two large groups for comparison of
drinking behaviors: all American students and Asian American students. Comparing
regression analyses for all American students and Asian American students allowed me
to see distinctive differences between the two groups and to assess signiﬁcant factors

correlated with alcohol abuse.

1. Regression analysis for all students’ alcohol abuse

A regression analysis was conducted to determine the contributing factors to
adolescents’ alcohol abuse. All variables contributing to adolescents’ alcohol abuse
were analyzed. The following variables were signiﬁcantly associated with the dependent
variable, adolescents’ alcohol abuse: “Parental concern,” “How many of your friends
get drunk once in a while?,” “How many of your friends get drunk almost every
weekend?,” “How many of your ﬁiends get drunk?,” “How often have your friends
asked you to get drunk?,” “age when the student ﬁrst came to the United States,” and
“mother was born in United States.” The remaining variables were not statistically
signiﬁcantly correlated with adolescents’ alcohol abuse: “family involvement,” “father
lives at home,” “mother lives at home,” “how often a foreign language is spoken at
home,” “father was born in the United States,” “student’s self-image” and “perceived
racial discrimination.” Peer variables contributed most signiﬁcantly to adolescents’
alcohol abuse. Family variables and acculturation variables showed mixed correlation

with the dependent variable. “Parental concern” was signiﬁcantly associated with

68

adolescents’ alcohol abuse, while “family involvement,” “father lives at home,” and
“mother lives at home” were not. “Age when the student ﬁrst came to the United States”
and “mother was born in the United States” were signiﬁcantly associated with the
dependent variable, adolescents’ alcohol abuse while “how often a foreign language is
spoken at home” and “father was born in the United States” were not. The “self-image”
variable and “perceived racial discrimination” variable were not signiﬁcantly correlated

with adolescents’ alcohol abuse.

69

Table 37

Regression analysis of contributing factors to adolescents’ alcohol abuse for all ethnic
groups’ adolescents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standardized
Coefficients
Variables Signiﬁcance
Beta Test

Family involvement with -.016 .137
student

Family variables Parental concern for student -.053 .000*
Father lives at home -.002 .811
Mother lives at home -.016 .093
How many of your friends get .101 .000*
drunk once in a while?

Peer Variables How many of your friends get .1 17 .000*
drunk almost every weekend?
How many of your friends get .203 .000*
drunk?
How often have your friends .191 .000*
asked you to get drunk?
Was student born in the United .050 .002*
States?
Student’s age when he/she ﬁrst .048 .001 *
came to the United States

Acculturation How oﬂen is a foreign .019 .164
language spoken at home?

Variables Was your father born in the .013 .456
United States?
Was your mother born in the .046 .010*
United States?

Self-Image Student’s self-image .011 .292

Perceived Racial Perceived Racial -.005 .593

Discrimination Discrimination

 

 

 

 

* Signiﬁcance level: p<.05

70

2. Regression analysis for Asian American students’ alcohol abuse
In addition to the regression analysis for all students’ alcohol abuse,
another regression analysis was conducted to determine the contributing factors to
Asian American students’ alcohol abuse and to compare them with all American
students’ alcohol abuse (Table 38).

Peer variables (peer alcohol abuse and peer pressure) were most consistently and
signiﬁcantly correlated with Asian American students’ alcohol abuse. Family
variables and acculturation variable showed mixed correlation with Asian American
students’ alcohol abuse. The “parental concern” variable and the “father lives at
home” variable were contributing to the dependent variable, whereas student’s
“family involvement” variable and “mother lives at home” variable (Family factor
variables) were not. The student’s “born in the United States” variable (Acculturation
factor variable) was contributing to the dependent variable, whereas the other four
acculturation variables were not. Student’s “self-image” variable was not
signiﬁcantly correlated with Asian American students’ alcohol abuse. Family, peer,
and acculturation variables were signiﬁcantly correlated with both all American
students’ and Asian American students’ alcohol abuse, except “father lives at home”
variable of family variables. The “father lives at home” variable was signiﬁcantly
correlated with Asian American students’ alcohol abuse but it was not signiﬁcantly
correlated with all American students’ alcohol abuse.

The “perceived racial discrimination” variable was signiﬁcantly correlated with
Asian American students’ alcohol abuse; however it was not signiﬁcantly correlated

with all American students’ alcohol abuse. The “perceived racial discrimination”

71

variable was quite differently correlated with these two groups in this study while
other variables were similarly correlated with the dependable variable. It was
noteworthy that other research (Vega, Khoury, Zimmerman, Gil, & Warheit, 1995) on
African American adolescents’ drug abuse also found that “perceived racial

discrimination” was signiﬁcantly correlated with their drug abuse.

72

Table 38

Regression analysis of contributing factors to adolescents’ alcohol abuse for Asian
American adolescents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standardized
Coefficients
Variables Signiﬁcance
Beta Test

Family involvement with -.019 .285
student

Family variables Parental concern for student -.O45 .007“
Father lives at home -O46 .006*
Mother lives at home .028 .094
How many of your friends get .061 .020*
drunk once in a while?

Peer Variables How many of your friends get .105 .000“
drunk almost every weekend?
How many of your ﬁiends get .190 .000*
drunk?
How often have your friends .168 .000“
asked you to get drunk?
Was student born in the United .039 .092
States?
Student’s age when he/she ﬁrst .073 .002*
came to the United States

Acculturation How often is a foreign -.001 .978
language spoken at home?

Variables Was your father born in the .001 .973
United States?
Was your mother born in the -.008 .727
United States?

Self-Image Student’s self-image .023 .172

Perceived Racial Perceived Racial .037 .025*

Discrimination Discrimination

 

 

 

 

* Signiﬁcance level: p<.05

73

E. Summary of Results

This study found that Asian American adolescents abuse alcohol less frequently
than Caucasian American, Latino American, or Aﬁican American adolescents. Among
Asian Americans, Korean and Japanese American adolescents abuse alcohol more than
Chinese and Vietnamese American adolescents. Problems with adolescents’ alcohol
abuse are most noticeable in the results of binge drinking such as experiencing “passing-
out” and “blacking-out”, health, safety, and social adjustment issues. Adolescents’
drinking leads to troubles at school, poor academic performance, conﬂicts with parents
and friends, damaged relationships, trafﬁc accidents and citations by law enforcement
ofﬁcial.

This study found causal relationships between family, peer, acculturation, and
perceived racial discrimination variables and the dependent variable, Asian American
adolescents’ alcohol use. There was no signiﬁcant correlation between self-image

variables and alcohol abuse.

74

Chapter V. Discussion and Recommendations

The purpose of this study was to explore Asian American students’ alcohol abuse
and to examine factors contributing to their drinking behavior. It compared their alcohol
abuse with Caucasian American, Latino American and African American students.
Korean American, Chinese American, Japanese American, and Vietnamese American
students were selected from different Asian American ethnic groups because of their
shared Confucian cultural backgrounds.

This study found that Asian American students drank much less than Caucasian
American, Latino American, and Aﬁ-ican American students and that they had fewer
problems caused by drinking. Other research supports this ﬁnding (Johnston, O’Malley,
& Bachman, 2005; Gillmore et al., 1990). I attribute this to Asian American family and
cultural factors. The higher rate of Asian American students’ having intact families
(“father lives at home”) (“mother lives at home”) and families’ concerns about the
students’ well-being have positive effects on Asian American students less frequent
alcohol use. Family inﬂuences on adolescents’ alcohol abuse was established in other
research (Barnes, Farrell, & Banerjee, 1995; Brody, Flor, Hollett-Wright, McCoy, &
Donovan, 1999).

The association between an Asian American “student’s age when he/she ﬁrst
came to the United States” and their alcohol use shows how acculturation affects alcohol
use. My research showed a correlation between the length of time in the United States
and drinking behavior. Those who had been in the United States the longest drank more
than newer arrivals. In this case, a longer period of acculturation to United States social

values was correlated with heavier drinking. This is supported by Nakashima and Wong

75

(2000) who found that the place of birth and length of time in the United States
inﬂuenced Korean American adolescents’ acculturation to American values.

Peer inﬂuences on students’ alcohol abuse are universal across all ethnic groups
and are not unique to Asian American students. Since the United States is one the most
individualistic cultures and Asian culture are more collectivist (Hofstede, 2001), it is
expected that there would be more peer inﬂuence among Asian American students.
However, this study did not ﬁnd differences in peer inﬂuence between the two groups.
Peer inﬂuences on students’ drinking behaviors and attitudes have been documented in
many studies (Simon-Mortons, Haynie, Crump Eitel, & Saylor, 2001; Nakashima &
Wong, 2000; Bentler, 1992). This study conﬁrmed the strength of peer inﬂuences on
alcohol abuse among Asian American students, speciﬁcally Korean American, Chinese
American, Japanese American, and Vietnamese American students.

Family, peer, and cultural factors related to adolescents’ alcohol use and abuse
have been noted in numerous studies (Harris, 1999; Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992;
Coombs, Paulson, & Richardon, 1991), and this study conﬁrms those ﬁndings for Asian
American adolescents. An important ﬁnding of this study is that “perceived racial
discrimination” contributes to Asian American students’ alcohol abuse, a phenomenon
documented in other studies that examined the association between perceived racial
discrimination and substance abuse among African American adolescents (Min, 1991).

Important consequences of adolescents’ drinking in this study were “passing-out”
and “blacking-out” as a result of binge drinking. Binge drinking among adolescents has
been studied by others (Johnston, O’Malley, & Bachman, 2005; Swade, 1999; Makimoto,

1999). Caucasian American students showed the highest rate of binge drinking and

76

behavior problems associated with their laissez-faire attitudes towards heavy drinking.
Korean American and Japanese American students also indicated high rates of binge
drinking and liberal attitudes towards heavy drinking. Chinese American students’
conservative attitudes towards heavy drinking resulted in very little binge drinking and
were consistent with Chinese American adults’ attitudes towards alcohol use. The
relatively high rates of Korean American and Japanese American students’ binge
drinking and liberal attitudes toward heavy drinking were closely associated with high
rates of Korean American and Japanese American adults’ heavy drinking and their
attitudes towards heavy drinking (Park, Oh, & Lee, 1998; Zane & Kim, 1994). These
facts reconﬁrm the association between family and peer inﬂuences and Asian American
adolescents’ alcohol abuse.

Excessively heavy or binge drinking by adolescents, speciﬁcally for Caucasian
American, Korean and Japanese American students, is a concern for parents, teachers,
school authorities, and social workers and other helping professionals working with
children and young adults. Even though this study did not ﬁnd that adolescents have
extraordinarily high rates of traffic accidents or injuries due to excessive drinking,
Caucasian American, Korean American, and Japanese American students had higher
rates of “trafﬁc accidents” and “ﬁghts” caused by drinking than Chinese and Vietnamese
American students. “Passing out” and “blacking out” create many problems and risks for
adolescents such as accidents, assaults, and risky sexual behaviors.

The ﬁndings of this study provide useful information for social workers,
educators and other helping professionals concerned with adolescent alcohol abuse.

Even though there is abundant information and research on adolescents’ alcohol abuse

77

and associated issues, relatively little research has been done on Asian American
adolescents. This study conﬁrmed existing information about why adolescents abuse
alcohol and provided new information about Asian American students’ alcohol use and
abuse. These ﬁndings could be used by social workers and helping professionals when
they are working with Asian American students.

Based on the ﬁndings, the following suggestions are offered to social workers and
other helping professionals working with adolescents, particularly Asian American
students. There are needs to:

1) develop programs that promote family involvement with students and educate

parents about the dangers of adolescents’ alcohol abuse;

2) develop programs that will reduce peer pressure for alcohol abuse among

adolescents and curb binge drinking and causal, laissez-faire attitudes towards

drinking;

3) be aware of the age of student when he/ she ﬁrst came to the United States since

acculturation to American values is related to alcohol abuse;

4) develop programs to alleviate students’ perceived racial discrimination — the

most signiﬁcant factor, according to my ﬁndings, inﬂuencing Asian American

students’ alcohol abuse;

5) develop programs that provide information on alcohol abuse and promote

abstinence or moderate drinking. Programs should provide information about the

effects of alcohol on the human body, especially heavy drinking, the risks
involved with drinking and binge drinking and how peer pressure affects drinking

behaviors.

78

Limitations of the study

A limitation of this study was its data set. Secondary data analyses depends on a
given data set and its methodology. Consequently, I could not design questionnaires
which might provide better data on Asian American students’ use and abuse of alcohol.
As a result this study is limited in scope and ﬁndings. For instance, family factors, such
as the “father lives at home” variable showed mixed results for students’ alcohol abuse
even though I suspect that family factors could be shown to be strongly correlated with
students’ alcohol abuse with better designed questionnaires.

My study is based on a survey of schools located in California that have at least
25 % Asian American student enrollment. Thus, this study does not fully represent
typical American or Asian American students. Asian American students’ enrollment is
much less than 25 % in most American schools. When Asian American students are
signiﬁcant minority in schools, they act differently than Asian American students in
schools with low proportions of Asian students. Furthermore, this study also does not
include school dropouts. Previous studies indicated that alcohol abuse is higher among

dropouts, a population that merits further research.

79

Suggestions for future research
Future research could include examination of the following:
1) Asian American students’ binge drinking behaviors, since there is little
information about Asian American student’s binge drinking;
2) Asian American adolescents’ self-image and self-esteem. This study did not
ﬁnd that “self-image” inﬂuenced Asian American students’ alcohol abuse.
However, a co-relationship between self-image and American students’ alcohol
abuse has been found in other research and it merits further study among Korean
American adolescents;
3) Asian American adolescents’ perceived racial discrimination and its impact on
their self-image, self-esteem, psychological adjustment, and alcohol abuse: Asian
students’ “perceived racial discrimination” could be seen in many aspects of the
students’ enviromnent in school and the community. Students’ language barriers,
the effect of class sizes, and the proportion of Asian students in a school are a few
possible contributors to students’ “perceived racial discrimination.” Future
research could explore factors associated with “perceived racial discrimination.”
Asian American adolescents have experienced discrimination from their
peers, while African American and Latino adolescents experienced discrimination
from adults in positions of authority such as teachers and police officers
(Rosenbloom & Way, 2004). It is valuable to study Asian American adolescents’
“perceived discrimination” and its association with alcohol abuse, self-image, and
depression. I do hope this study will assist researchers and helping professionals

who are concerned about adolescents’ alcohol use and abuse.

80

APPENDICES

81

APPENDIX A
Survey questionnaires used in the study

Racial/ethnic identiﬁcation of students and parents: questions 4 through 8:

4. Are you—
_ White _ Asian or Asian-American
_ Black or Aﬁican American _ Latino or Hispanic
_ American Indian _ Other
_ Alaska Native

5. Do you identify yourself as of mixed ethnicity?
_ Yes _ No

6. If you are Asian, Asian-American, or Paciﬁc Islander, which of the following groups
do you mostly identify with?
(Mark only one choice)

__ Does not apply; I am not Asian, Asian-American or Paciﬁc Islander.
_ Asian Indian

_ Cambodian

_ Chinese (including Taiwanese)

_ Filipino (Pilipino)

_ Guarnanian

_ Hawaiian

_ Hmong

_ Japanese

_ Korean

_ Laotian

_ Samoan

_ Vietnamese

_ Other Asian, Asian-American or Paciﬁc Islander

7. If you are Latino or Hispanic, which of the following groups do you mostly identify
with?

(Mark only one choice)
_ Mexican _ Puerto Rican
__ Central American _ Spanish
_ South American __ Other Latino or Hispanic
_ Cuban

82

8. How would you describe your parents’ race/ethnicity?

Is your mother—
_ White
_ Black or African American
_ American Indian/Alaska Native
_ Asian or Asian-American
_ Latina or Hispanic
_ Other

Is your father_
_ White
_ Black or Aﬁican American
__ American Indian/Alaska Native
_ Asian or Asian-American
_ Latina or Hispanic
_ Other

Alcohol use and abuse: Alcohol abuse of students is measured in eleven questions 9
through 14, 18, 19, 20, 54, and 57:

9. Have you ever had alcohol to drink?

_ Yes _ No
10. Have you ever gotten drunk?
__ Yes _ No
l 1. How old were you the ﬁrst time you got drunk?
_ Never gotten drunk
7_or YFEUEEﬁi—EE’F/ﬁ Ear
younger older

12. How often in the last 12 months have you __
1-2 3-9 10-19 20-49 50 or
None times times times times more times
Had alcohol to drink
Gotten drunk

13. How often in the last months have you
1-2 3-9 10-19 20-49

None times times times times
Had alcohol to drink
Gotten drunk

83

14. How do you like to drink?

_ I don’t drink _ Enough to feel it a lot
_ Just glass or two _ Until I get really drunk
_ Enough to feel it a little
18. In using alcohol, are you a _

_ Non User

_ Very Light User

_ Light User

_ Moderate User

_ Heavy User

_ Very Heavy User

19. Has your drinking alcohol ever caused you any of the following problem?
10 or more
times times times

No
Get a trafﬁc ticket?
Have a car accident?
Get arrested?
Have money problem?
Gotten you in trouble at school?
Hurt your school work?
Fight with other kids?
Fight with your parents?
Damaged a friendship?
Passed out?
Couldn’t remember what
happened while drinking?
Made you break something?

1-2

3-9

20. During the last 12 months, where have you used alcohol?

At weekend parties

At night with friends

At school events (dances, games, etc.)
On the way to school

During school hours at school

During school hours away from school
Right after school

While driving around

At home (parents knew)

At home (parents didn’t know)

At work

Never

84

1 -2
times

3-9
times

10 or more
times

54. Have you ever don any of the following things?

used free-base cocaine?

used coca paste?

stayed high more than 7 hours?

used nitrous oxide (laughing gas) to get high?
used alcohol and marijuana together?

used alcohol and another drug together?
taken 2 drugs at the same time?

used cocaine or crack and heroin together?

57. When I answered the questions about alcohol _
_ I was very honest
_ I said I used it more than I really do
_ I said I used it less than I really do

Family factors: Family factors are measured by questions 96 through 105:

96. Does your family to school events like music programs, sports events, etc?

A Not
Lot Some Much No

97. Does your family know what is going on at school?

A Not
Lot Some Much No

98. Does your family go to school meetings like PTA or PTO, back to school night, etc?

A Not
Lot Some Much No

—_ _ m _—

99. Does your father live at home with you?

Yes No My father died

85

100. Does your mother live at home with you?

Yes No My mother died

101. How much would your family care if you

smoked cigarette

got drunk

“sniffed” something like glue or gas
used marijuana

used other drugs

102. How much would your family try to stop you from

A Not
Lot Some Much At All
smoking cigarette
getting drunk
“snifﬁng” something like glue or gas
using marijuana
using other drugs

103. How much would your family care if you

A Not

Lot Some Much At All
skipped school _ _ _ __
got a bad grade _ __ _ __
did not do your homework __ _ _ _
quit school _ _ _ _

104. Does your family care what you do?

A Not
Lot Some Much At All

86

105. How much has your family talked to you about the dangers of the following

A Not

Lot Some Much At All
smoking cigarette
getting drunk
“snifﬁng” something like glue or gas
using marijuana
using other drugs

Peer factors: Alcohol use and abuse by students’ friends is measured by questions 15, 16,
21,and51 through 53: ’

15. How much would your ﬁiends try to stop you from getting drunk?

16. How often have your friends asked you to get drunk?

21. How many of your ﬁiends _
One Some Most
or of of

None two them them

Get drunk once in a while

Get drink almost every weekend

51. How much would you try to stop your friends from using __

A Not Not
Lot Some Much At All
marijuana
cocaine
“sniff” glue or gas, etc.

uppers _ _ _ _
downers

getting drunk

87

52. How many of your friends do each of the following

A Most of All of
None Few Them Them
use marijuana
use cocaine
“sniff” glue or gas, etc.
use uppers
use downers

get drunk

53. How often have your ﬁiends asked you to use

Very Not Very Not at

Often Some Often All
marijuana __ _ _ _
cocaine _ _ _ _
“sniff” glue or gas, etc. _ _ _ _
uppers _ _ _ _
downers

Acculturation: Acculturation is measured by questions 60 through 64:

60. Were you born in the United States of America (USA)?
_ Yes _ No

61. If you were not born in the USA, how old were you when you ﬁrst came to the USA?

_ Does not apply, I was born in the USA
_ 5 years old or younger

_ 6-9 years old

_ 10-12 years old

_ 13 years old

_ 14 years old

_ 15 years old

_ 16 years old

62. Was your father born in the USA?
_ Yes _ No

88

63. Was your mother born in the USA?
__ Yes _ No

64. How often do you speak a language other than English with your parents?

__ Never

__ Very little
_ Sometimes
_ Often

_ Very Often
_ Always

Self-image: Self-image is measured by questions 87 through 94:

87.

I am proud of myself

I am quick tempered

I steal things

I feel low

I am able to do things well

88.

I like myself

I get mad

Is it bad to cheat
Is it bad to lie?

I am unhappy

89

89.

90.

91.

92.

Other people my age like me
I am lucky

I do things my teacher don’t
want me to do

I cheat in school

I am lonely

Is it bad to steal?
Is it bad to skip school?

I feel like hitting someone
I feel bad

Other people my age like to be with me
People like me

I like to do dangerous things

I lose my temper

I feel sad
A
Lot
I am good looking _
I lie to people __

I take chances
People try to get me in trouble
I am smart

90

Some

Not
Much

No

93.

I am lonesome

I am hothead

People tell lies about me

I would like to learn to Skydive
I am depressed

94.
A Not
Lot Some Much No

I am good at games

I do bad things
I get angry _ _ _ _
Other people my age ask me
to do things with them

Perceived racial discrimination: Perceived racial discrimination is measured by questions
106 through 108:

106. How often are you treated unfairly at your school because of your racial or ethnic
background?

Very often
Sometimes
Not very often
Not at all

91

107. How often have you seen your ﬁiends treated unfairly at your school because of
their racial or ethnic background?

Very often
Sometimes
Not very often
Not at all

108. How often do other students dislike you because of your racial or ethnic
background?

Very often
Sometimes
Not very often
Not at all

92

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