Health and Behavior Risks of Adolescents with Mixed-Race Identity

Udry, J. Richard PhD
Li, Rose Maria PhD
Hendrickson-Smith, Janet MA

About the Authors: J. Richard Udry and Janet Hendrickson-Smith are with the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Rose Maria Li is with Analytical Sciences, Inc.

Requests for reprints should be sent to: J. Richard Udry, PhD, Carolina Population Center, CB# 8120, 123 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-2524 (e-mail: [email protected]).

This article was accepted August 23, 2003.

American Journal of Public Health 93(11):p 1865-1870, November 2003.

Objectives.

This study compared the health and risk status of adolescents who identify with 1 race with those identifying with more than 1 race.

Methods.

Data are derived from self-reports of race, using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which provides a large representative national sample of adolescents in grades 7 through 12. Respondents could report more than 1 race.

Results.

Mixed-race adolescents showed higher risk when compared with single-race adolescents on general health questions, school experience, smoking and drinking, and other risk variables.

Conclusions.

Adolescents who self-identify as more than 1 race are at higher health and behavior risks. The findings are compatible with interpreting the elevated risk of mixed race as associated with stress.