As described above, this study utilized a measure of alcohol/drug use that

assessed problems due to drinking or drugs. A measure of substance use that assesses

infrequent use or experimentation with substances may be more appropriate in future

research with this age group. There are large-scale studies that address these sorts of

substance use issues (e.g., Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance-Middle-School; CDC, 1998

as cited in Fetro et al., 2001) for this age group. However, these studies tend to focus

only on the problem behaviors rather than examining strengths factors. Future studies

could examine individual and socio-cultural strengths and their relationship to substance

experimentation in middle-school students.

 Nursing Implications

 Several future directions for research are described in the previous section. This

section addresses the direct implications to nursing practice, education, and research. One

goal of an applied science such as psychiatric mental-health nursing is to provide the

basis for interventions that promote mental health, prevent disease, and treat mental

health problems when indicated. Psychiatric-mental health nurses are increasingly

involved in school-based screenings for those in need of mental health services (Gall et

al., 2000; Lamb & Puskar, 1991). The results of this study demonstrate that a brief

screening instrument can identify adolescents who are suffering from mental health

problems. The adolescents who scored in the warning range of the MAYSI-2 could be

referred for intervention in school-based settings.

 In terms of the direct applications of this research study to the field of nursing,

ethnic identity achievement was found to be negatively related to alcohol/drug use.

Aspects of self-concept, including ethnic identity could be assessed when intervening

with adolescents. Research focused on psychosocial strengths can provide nurses with the