The use of identity style to predict the alcohol consumption of African middle and late adolescent

Abstract

Identity is considered one of the variables useful in explaining the reasons for health risk behaviours such as alcohol consumption among adolescents. In this study, 441 Black African high school students, aged 15 to 24 years, were participants. They were administered the identity style inventory and the student alcohol questionnaire within the framework of a cross-sectional design. Preliminary results found that there was no interaction effect of gender and age, and no main effect of age on informational, normative and diffuse/avoidant identity processing styles. Nevertheless, there was a sex main effect on the informational and the diffuse/avoidant identity styles, with the normative-orientation identity style’s results being marginally significant. Mean scores of females on the information-orientation and the normative-orientation identity processing styles were larger, and males mean scores tended to be larger on the diffuse/avoidant identity processing style. Classification of leaners into categorical identity processing styles shows that more females are classified as normative-orientation, whereas many males were classified as diffuse/avoidant. Main analysis found that sex and identity processing styles could not differentiate between drinking and non-drinking learners, and both variables could not predict the frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption, and the binge drinking. Key words: Adolescents, alcohol consumption, binge drinking, identity processing style, identity status,