Family,School, and Peer Influences on Alcohol Abstinence and Use among American Indian and White Female Adolescents

This analysis is informed by social bonding, social learning, and self-control theories and is based on data collected between 2009 and 2013 in 27 school districts located in five U. S. regions. The sample (N = 2,140) includes female adolescents (7th–12th graders) who identified themselves as white or American Indian. In support of the social learning theory, pro-alcohol use definitions, association with peers who drink excessively, and the peers’ differential reinforcement of alcohol abuse are significant predictors of alcohol use in the racially integrated model. Conversely, when controlling for a selected group of predictors, one’s level of self-control and measures of social bond are no longer differentiating alcohol users from abstainers. Yet, additional mediation analyses show that the lack of family attachment, parental monitoring, and school attachment have significant indirect effects on alcohol use.