Strong family ties and good parent-child communication appear to be protecting Asian American youth from drug and alcohol use, says a new study by University of California researchers.

"Statistics show that, in general, drug and alcohol use is significantly lower among Asian Americans," says Irene Kim, a postdoctoral researcher in the UC Davis Department of Human and Community Development.

In her study, co-authored by Nolan Zane of UC Davis and Sehee Hong of UC Santa Barbara, Kim found two major influences on Asian American adolescents in regards to substance use.

One was the culture-specific finding that when Asian Americans, whether immigrants or longtime citizens, maintain close parent-child relationships, children are protected from negative peer influences. High levels of communication serve as a protective factor against substance use, Kim says.

The study, published in the September Journal of Community Psychology, also found that Asian American youth, like all adolescents, are subject to peer pressure. "Involvement with deviant friends is a risk factor for all cultures," she points out.

Kim says the "Asian American" culture is quite diverse with more than 30 ethnicities, and that drug and alcohol use varies among the many groups. For instance, Pacific Islander youth use more alcohol and drugs than other Asian Americans.

The study has implications for counseling. "Using the importance of the family, counselors can target intervention efforts by improving communication within the family and working on generation gaps that might be formed through the differing experiences between immigrants and their native-born kids," Kim says.