The Role of Identity in Positive Alcohol Use Attitudes, Risky Drinking, and Alcohol-Related Problems Among...

Positive attitudes toward alcohol use, risky drinking, and the likelihood of experiencing alcohol-related problems tend to increase during adolescence. Although prior studies suggest that identity coherence protects against, and identity confusion increases, vulnerability to negative health-related outcomes, less is known about how identity coherence and confusion uniquely predict trajectories of positive alcohol-use attitudes, risky drinking, as well as the onset of alcohol-related problems across adolescence-particularly among racially/ethnically diverse youth. In the present study, we examined (a) trajectories of positive alcohol-use attitudes, risky drinking, and the onset timing of alcohol-related problems and (b) the unique predictive effects of identity coherence and identity confusion on these outcomes.

We used six waves (2014-2017) of data from a school-based study on alcohol use involving 812 adolescents (M_age at baseline = 13.60; 52.3% girls). The sample was primarily Hispanic (39.5%) and non-Hispanic Black (34.0%), along with non-Hispanic White (8.8%), multiracial (7.8%), and other racial/ethnic groups (9.9%). Latent growth curve modeling and discrete-time survival analysis were employed.

Positive alcohol-use attitudes and risky drinking increased across adolescence, and the likelihood of alcohol-related problem onset peaked at age 16 years. Identity coherence negatively predicted all outcomes, including trajectories of positive alcohol-use attitudes and risky drinking, as well as the onset of alcohol-related problems. In contrast, higher identity confusion positively predicted only the positive alcohol-use attitudes trajectory.

Findings suggest that identity-focused interventions in racially/ethnically diverse settings should emphasize strengthening identity coherence to mitigate maladaptive alcohol-related cognitions, behaviors, and problems during adolescence.