African American adolescents are faced with pressures from their own ethnic group as well as from the majority culture as they navigate through the stormy waters of identity development. Adolescence is a time of experimentation, and flirting with substance use is an option adolescents deal with as a part of this time. Based on literature from epidemiology, ethnic identity, and acculturation research, it is proposed that the level of involvement and interest in the majority culture as well as own ethnic culture are important predictors of substance use in this population. Three constructs compose the identification idea: identification with own racial group, identification with other racial groups, and separation attitudes. The conceptualizations are based on the work of John Berry. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test a model of relations between exogenous variables (racial discrimination, segregation, SES, social activity level and academic orientation), identification and separation attitudes, negative affect, and health risk cognitions as described by the prototype/willingness theory. Cross-sectional data from 723African American participants (mean age=12.3) were taken from the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS) to test the model. Results indicate that identification with own ethnic group and with other ethnic groups are important protective factors in relation to health risk cognitions, which in turn are related to health risk behavior. The relation between identification with own racial group and health risk cognitions is mediated by negative affect, whereas identification with other racial groups has a direct (not mediated) effect. Images of the prototypical substance user mediate the effect of identification in both cases. Both types of identification promote negative user images and less willingness and intent to engage in substance use; separation attitude is an important covariate. Academic orientation is an important part of the model, predicting all three identification variables. It is concluded that identification strategies of African American adolescents and the relation of these strategies to academic orientation are important considerations for the development of intervention, especially since most intervention efforts take place within the context of public schools.