The Tipping Point: A Report on alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use among Koreatown and South Bay Youth

The Koreatown Youth and Community Center (KYCC) and the Asian American Drug Abuse Program (AADAP) have recently concluded a survey of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use among Koreatown and South Bay Youth. This study is part of an ongoing series conducted by both agencies to understand and prevent substance abuse in the Koreatown and South Bay Korean American community.

Download:
Executive Summary (English)
Executive Summary (Korean)
Complete report (English)


Some of the findings include:

• 40.8% of KYCC survey participants have used alcohol in the past year compared to 14.7% of underage youth in the U.S.
•  The majority of youth in the KYCC survey reported that their parents did not know they used drugs.
• 71% of youth surveyed in Koreatown are unsupervised after school. 
• Approximately 18% of youth responded they would drink with permission at home while about 12% of youth would drink at home without permission.
• One-third of the KYCC youths felt that it would be "very easy"for them to obtain alcohol and cigarettes, while 28% felt that it would be "very easy" for them to obtain marijuana. One-third of youths from the AADAP survey reported that alcohol is located in an open area. Of those who reported alcohol was stored, 92.9% of youth said that alcohol was not locked. Thus, alcohol was still accessible for these youth which helps explain why many felt it easy to access alcohol without parental knowledge. 
• Of those who have used alcohol, about 8% access it with a fake ID while 13.9% access it without a fake ID. Similarly, more youths access cigarettes from their communities without fake IDs. That is, 23.3% can get cigarettes without fake ID and only 10% access it with a fake ID.

With these results, recommendations were made for increased parental monitoring and after-school care, increased parental awareness of their own attitudes towards alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, as well as increased communication to youth regarding the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.