Interactive Effects of Discrimination and Racial Identity on Alcohol-Related Thoughts and Use

Abstract

The interrelationships among racial discrimination, non race-based rejection, racial identity (RI), and alcohol cognitions and use were assessed in this research. In Study 1, individuals who experienced overt discrimination and who were high in RI were less likely than those low in RI to meet criteria for alcohol abuse disorder. In Study 2, discrimination and rejection were causally related to a faster reaction time in a lexical decision task to alcohol-related concepts as compared to neutral words, especially for those low in RI. Implications of discrimination and rejection on substance use and other risky health behaviors are discussed.

Notes

Note. Possible range for chronic family stress is 0–12 and for life stress is 0–10. N = 4,780. DSM–IV = Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.).

^a N = 4,663. ^b N = 173.

Note. OR = odds ratio; CI = confidence interval. Multivariate model adjusted for gender, age, race, marital status, education, income, DSM-IV depressive episode in the last 12 months, chronic family stress, and life stress in the past 30 days.

*p = .05. **p < .05. ***p < .01.

¹The models are also significant if only African Americans are included in the analyses.