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Background: Research on the prevalence and correlates of adolescent misconduct, arrests, and juvenile delinquency has been greatly neglected for the ethnically diverse adolescent groups in Hawai'i (i.e. Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders).Aims: The aims of the present study are three-fold: (1) to determine whether there are differential rates of adolescent misconduct based on ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic (SES) factors; (2) on an exploratory basis, to ascertain the demographic, social-cultural, psychological-psychiatric, and school-related correlates of misconduct, with some focus on cultural identification; and (3) to derive a parsimonious model of the correlates for an ethnically diverse group of adolescents by disentangling cultural identification from other variables including ethnicity.Methods: Data were analyzed from the Native Hawaiian Mental Health Research Development Program, consisting of 2,732 Asian/Pacific Islander youths. Misconduct was operationally defined as 'was arrested or got in serious trouble with the law' within the past six months via adolescent self-report. Of added importance were the inclusion of a valid measure of Hawaiian cultural identification and actual school data.Results: Significantly higher rates were obtained for Native Hawaiians, males, and adolescents whose main wage earners' educational attainment was at the high school level or less. Absences may be a more important marker for females than males in the prediction of arrests and serious trouble with the law. The most parsimonious model of self-reported arrests/serious trouble with the law consisted of four variables in the following order of importance: substance use, actual grade-point average, aggressive symptoms, and gender.Conclusion: This is one of the first major studies to examine the prevalence and risk-protective factors of misconduct for adolescents of Asian/Pacific Islander ancestry, and the first to include a valid measure of cultural identification and actual school data. The findings indicated that gender-specific prevention and intervention programs are needed. However, the issues are also complex whereby the use of substances, school performance, and aggression must be taken into account in deriving successful programs. The lack of sustained association between culturally based factors (e.g., ethnicity, Hawaiian cultural identifi-cation) and misconduct in the final parsimonious model suggested that the culturally based variables are not direct causes of misconduct, but rather correlates of misconduct that are over-shadowed by more substantive factors, such as substance use and academic performance, the latter being variables that must be addressed for youths across the United States. The present results reaffirmed the common correlates of misconduct across different ethnic groups. Further research is needed in the causal relationships among these important associations with misconduct.

Background: Minorities and indigenous peoples are likely to have poor mental health and physical outcomes. This study examines resiliency indicators in Hawaiian adolescents. Aims: Multiple resiliency indicators were examined across different domains including individual, family and community in relation to increased psychological well-being. Methods: Existing data from the Native Hawaiian Mental Health Research Development Program (NHMHRDP) were used. These data included information from a community sample of five high schools on three islands from the state of Hawai'i. The sample included 1,832 students, where 64% were Native Hawaiian and 36% were non-Hawaiian. Results: This study found that Native Hawaiian youth experienced more family adversity compared with non-Hawaiians, but Native Hawaiians were also more likely to have higher levels of family support. For internalizing symptomatology, the most robust resiliency factors were family support and physical fitness/health for Native Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian adolescents. For externalizing symptomatology, achievement and family support were consistently strong resiliency factors. The indicator for physical fitness and health was more influential among Native Hawaiians than non-Hawaiians for externalizing symptoms, while academic achievement was more influential among non-Hawaiians than for Native Hawaiians for the protection against internalizing symptoms. Conclusions: Our findings support the need for intervention programs designed to promote resilience in adolescents, including highlighting the importance of the family. Further research is needed to design and evaluate programs that promote well-being, enhance resilience and improve mental health in culturally appropriate ways.

Background: Factors associated with Asian/Pacific-Islander adolescent adjustment is a greatly neglected research area.Aims: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relation between demographic, social and adjustment measures based on a large-scale investigation of Asian/Pacific-Islander youths.Method: A total of 2577 adolescents were surveyed across 4 public schools in Hawai'i during the 1992-1993 school year.Results: Three social variables (number of relatives frequently seen, family support and friends' support) exhibited statistically significant but low correlations. Family support had the highest negative association with the four psychiatric symptoms (depression, anxiety, aggression, substance use). Friends' support was inconsistently associated with the adjustment measures, and the number of relatives frequently seen resulted in negligible effects. In contrast, demographic variables, especially ethnicity, played a much greater role in the association with the four school-related measures (grade-point average, absences, suspensions, conduct infractions).Discussion: For Asian/Pacific-Islander youths, the quality of the social supports, including family relations, may be particularly important in the adolescents' adjustment. When examining school-related outcomes, demographic variables, with particular emphases on ethnicity and culture, must be considered. When developing and implementing prevention and intervention services and programs, consideration of family and ethnic-cultural influences should be taken into account, with further research needed in several related domains: other SES influences, life stressors, migration-generational effects, ethnic identity, self-concept indicators and socio-political aspects.