Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: Alcohol and Other Drug Use and Problems. Prevention Update
Author(s):
Higher Education Center For Alcohol And Other Drug Abuse And Violence Prevention (ed)
Format:
Report
Publisher:
Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Violence Prevention, 2011.
Language:
English
Abstract:
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, from 1976 to 2009, the percentage of Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) college students rose from 2 percent to 7 percent. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), although many surveys treat AAPIs as a single ethnic group, this population is in fact ethnically highly diverse. The 1990 census identified 30 Asian and 21 Pacific Islander ethnic groups. Asian Americans include people of Chinese, Japanese, Indian (e.g., Pakistani, Indian, and Sri Lankan), Korean, Filipino, and Southeast Asian (e.g., Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian, Malaysian, and Thai) origin. Pacific Islanders include Polynesians (e.g., Hawaiians, Samoans, and Tongans), Micronesians (e.g., Chamorros), and Melanesians (e.g., Fijians). Even within each of these groups, various subgroups may exist. For example, Chinese Americans and their ancestors may have come to the United States from mainland China or Taiwan or Hong Kong. Among the Laotians, the Hmong, who live in the mountains of northern Laos, form a distinct ethnic group. This paper describes several research on alcohol consumption and other drug use among American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) college students. It also describes several counseling programs and services that target AAPI students. A list of resources is included.