Adolescent alcohol use in context: the role of parents and peers among African American and European American youth

Abstract

African American youth are less likely to use alcohol than their European American counterparts; however, the greater consequences of use for African American youth highlight the need for greater research attention to this group. Two social contexts that have been linked with adolescent alcohol use are parents and peers, yet these studies have rarely included African American youth or failed to examine potential racial differences. This study examined the main and interactive effects of parents and peers, as well as the moderating role of race on alcohol use, in African American and European American rural adolescents (n=71) identified as at high-risk for alcohol use. Contrary to study hypotheses, however, parents were not a more robust moderator for African American than European American youth. Clinical implications for prevention and intervention programming for both African American and European American youth are discussed.