Adolescence is one of life’s trickier phases. It’s fraught with new and changing perceptions, peer pressure and uncertainty about identity.

For children of immigrant families, these experiences can be more difficult to manage. They might face ethnic discrimination, fear of deportation for themselves or their family members and periods of separation from loved ones due to migration. Such experiences can make immigrant adolescents especially vulnerable to depression and risky behaviors, such as substance use.

This is the world Jennifer Kam studies. The assistant professor of communication at UC Santa Barbara investigates the messages these young people receive about substance use and how these messages may affect the likelihood of their abusing drugs and alcohol.

Read more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2016/016973/living-messages.