The Indirect Effect of Ethnic Identity on Marijuana Use Through School Engagement: An African American High School Sample

Abstract

Background African American marijuana use is associated with many negative social, emotional, and health-related consequences. Of significance, over recent years this population has shown an increase in use. In the literature, ethnic identity and school engagement are prominent protective factors against substance use. Objective This study will examine how these protective factors are related, specifically whether ethnic identity mitigates risk through school engagement to reduce marijuana use. Method A path analysis was conducted with 437 African American high school students (41% male) from Midwestern schools to examine the role of school engagement in the relationship between ethnic identity and marijuana use. Results The results revealed that students high in ethnic identity have higher school engagement, which lessens their frequency of marijuana use. Therefore, ethnic identity reduces marijuana use by increasing student’s school engagement. Conclusions/Importance The results offer a clearer picture of how ethnic identity and school engagement protect against marijuana use. The results also present insight into how to protect students who are low in ethnic identity.

Traditional risk and cultural protection: Correlates of alcohol and cannabis co-use among African-American adolescents.

“…School engagement was assessed using a measure comprising three subscales, which assessed respondents’ behavioral, cognitive, and emotional commitment to schooling, respectively (Arsenault et al, 2018). Respondents were asked to rate their behavioral engagement (e.g., “I always write down my homework assignments”) on a scale ranging from 1 ( Not at all like me ) to 4 ( A lot like me ).…”