Ego-Identity and Substance Use Patterns among Anglo, Hispanic, and American Indian Adolescents / Randall M. Jones and Carol Markstrom Adams.

Jones and Hartmann (1988) investigated the relation between identity status and experimental substance use among adolescents in junior and senior high schools, identifying differences in substance use across four identity statuses for adolescents in general. This study was conducted to examine the generalizability of these differences across ethnic categories. The sample consisted of 14,173 7th through 12th graders, including 8,119 Anglos, 4,492 Hispanics, and 1,562 American Indians. For purposes of data analysis, a subsample was selected in which equal numbers of subjects of each ethnic group were represented in the four identity statuses (diffused, moratorium, achieved, foreclosed) and an unclassified status. The subsample included 512 Anglos, 478 Hispanics, and 495 American Indians. Subjects completed the Objective Measure of Ego-Identity Status and a questionnaire related to subjects' involvement with alcohol and various other kinds of drugs. The results revealed apparent ego-identity differences among the three ethnic groups in the larger sample which suggests that Hispanics and American Indians engage in less identity exploration than do Anglos. Ethnic differences continued to exist when identity statuses were viewed in relation to substance use patterns. American Indians had a higher percentage of having tried alcohol and drugs, while Hispanics and Anglos were similar in their lower substance use patterns. Future research might focus on the identity-substance abuse relation in addition to the identity-substance use relation examined here. (NB)

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