By Charnicia E. Huggins

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - It has long been assumed that role models and mentors can have a positive impact on the life of an adolescent, and now recent study findings bolster that belief. In fact, in some cases, role models--even sports stars the teen doesn't know personally---may not only influence a teenager's self-esteem but also his or her substance use, researchers report.
"Under certain circumstances, having a role model is...linked with a lower likelihood of health-risk behaviors," lead study author Dr. Antronette K. Yancey of the Los Angeles Department of Health Services in California and her colleagues write.

"There's a huge level of need for a lot of teenagers when it comes to role models," Yancey told Reuters Health.

Yancey's team surveyed 749 Los Angeles adolescents aged 12 to 17 years about their role models.

Over half (56%) of the teenagers said they had a role model, and 42% of them said that it was a parent or relative. Almost 40% said that their role model was a sports figure, singer or some other individual primarily available through the media, and 19% said that it was a friend, doctor or other known individual outside the family.

Teenagers who reported having a role model had a stronger ethnic identity, higher self-esteem and higher grades than their peers, the investigators report in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Those who knew their role models, however, had higher grades and self-esteem and stronger ethnic identities than those who did not know their role models.

The researchers also evaluated whether having a role model helped one group--males or females, minorities or whites--more than another. They found that among white males who did not have a father in the house, those who had a role model reported less substance use than their peers.

Whites and males, respectively, are known to have higher rates of substance use, Yancey noted.

Overall, most teenagers chose role models of their own ethnicity. For example, 96% of African-American teens chose African-American role models, 80% of whites chose someone white and 75% of Latinos chose someone from the same background.

"I think what this research points to as we move into an increasingly diverse society, is that ethnic identity and self-esteem have a strong group component," Yancey said.

"Particularly for providers of services to teens and family members, trying to provide a range of images that are ethnically and gender appropriate can help teens select someone positive and who might provide inspiration," she said.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, both in Bethesda, Maryland.

SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 2002;156:55-61.