Author Description

Adolescence, as a developmental stage, is characterized by the initiation of risky health behaviors. Alcohol use behaviors are often initiated in early-to-middle adolescence and reach peak levels in young adulthood, after which they decline. This book was to identify trajectories of alcohol use and to investigate the significant predictors of alcohol use from early adolescence to young adulthood. The specific contents were: first, the investigation of predictors of different ages of onset of alcohol use; second, determinants of the impact of acculturation and psychosocial factors on alcohol use trajectories; and third, identification of the influence of parent, peer, school, and neighborhood factors on alcohol use trajectories at the individual-level, and the school and neighborhood-level. This book should be a valuable source of 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 positive school outcomes.