Studies on alcohol use among Asian American adolescents have been limited, although this population is increasing. The sample for this study was Asian American adolescents. The purpose was to identify trajectories of alcohol use and to investigate the significant predictors of alcohol use from early adolescence to young adulthood. The specific aims were: (1) investigate predictors of different ages of onset of alcohol use; (2) determine the impact of acculturation and psychosocial factors on alcohol use trajectories; and (3) identify the influence of parent, peer, school, and neighborhood factors on alcohol use trajectories at the individual-level, and the school and neighborhood-level.

This study was a secondary analysis using a nationally representative longitudinal data set from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used for growth curve analyses. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and logistic regression were employed to identify predictors of age of alcohol use onset. SAS were used to handle the design effects of a weighted stratified cluster sample. Multiple imputation of missing values was conducted using IVEware.

The findings of this study were that the predictors of initiation of alcohol use were different across age groups of onset of alcohol use. Additionally, the most acculturated adolescents tended to drink more alcohol on average than those who were least acculturated. Depressive symptoms and self-esteem were not significantly associated with alcohol use, but greater religiosity was associated with less alcohol use over time. Peer and father's alcohol use and poor adolescent-father relationships predicted increased adolescent alcohol use. School factors such as strong school bonding, few school absences, and high academic achievement were strongly and negatively associated with alcohol use, whereas, perceived neighborhood factors had no significant influence. At the school level, school prevention programs and policies against alcohol use were not significantly associated with alcohol use among Asian American adolescents.

The findings support the need for prevention and education programs against alcohol use and health policies for health promotion for Asian American adolescents. Interventions to delay the onset of alcohol use and decrease alcohol use should focus on peer and parental influences and promotion of positive school outcomes.