Protective factors buffer effects of risk factors on alcohol use among inner-city youth

Previous research suggests that alcohol and drug use among youth may be a function of the total number of etiologic factors present, rather than a specific type of factor. Furthermore, a growing number of studies have found that psychosocial protective factors are important in countering the effects of psychosocial risk. The present study evaluated the buffering effect of cumulative protection on adolescent alcohol use in the presence of high and moderate cumulative risk. A sample of 4,851 7th graders from 37 inner-city schools participated. Students with high scores on the cumulative risk factor index engaged in more alcohol use compared to those with low scores; those with high scores on the cumulative protective factor index engaged in less alcohol use relative to those with low scores. For participants at low risk, level of protection did not affect most measures of alcohol use. However, for both moderate and high risk groups, adolescents with high protection engaged in less alcohol use than those with low protection. These findings suggest that comprehensive alcohol use prevention programs for youth should focus on enhancing a variety of protective factors in addition to reducing risk. (C) 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.