title: Ethnicity and adolescent substance use.
abstract: This study focuses on diverse ethnic differences among adolescent substance use, utilizing selected items from the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-Adolescent version (SASSI-A). Data were gathered from a large-scale, cross-sequential study of adolescents during the 1993-1996 school years. Exploratory analyses were conducted for 3,711 students on the basis of their responses to a self-administered survey. Results indicated significant ethnic and gender differences for specific SASSI-A items and factor scores, with Hawaiian, "Other," and Caucasian students reporting higher scores than Japanese students and greater scores for female than male students. These findings suggest the need to develop culturally sensitive substance use prevention and treatment strategies that should also take gender differences into consideration for adolescents in Hawai'i.
authors.affiliation: Department of PsychiatryJohn A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i, Manoa, HI, USA. nishimuras@dop.hawaii.edu
authors.forename: Stephanie T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: Earl S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Hishinuma
authors.forename: 'iwalani R N
authors.initials: 'R
authors.lastname: Else
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Goebert
authors.forename: Naleen N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Andrade
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006254:Hawaii; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044382:Population Groups / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data