Childhood Adversity and Discrimination Drive Cannabis Use Among Black Young Adults
Among Black young adults, each additional adverse childhood experience and experience of everyday discrimination increased tobacco/cannabis product exposure, with foreign-born individuals showing 40% lower cannabis use than US-born peers.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Each additional ACE increased tobacco/nicotine product count by 5% (IRR=1.05) and lowered odds of abstaining from cannabis (aOR=0.83, 95% CI=0.73-0.95), while everyday discrimination independently increased tobacco exposure by 2% per experience. Foreign-born Black young adults had 40% lower cannabis product count (IRR=0.60) than US-born peers.
Key Numbers
N=484; 53.1% female; 37.6% foreign-born; ACE→tobacco IRR=1.05; discrimination→tobacco IRR=1.02; ACE→cannabis abstinence aOR=0.83; ACE→co-occurring exposure aOR=1.17; foreign-born cannabis IRR=0.60
How They Did This
Cross-sectional study of 484 Black young adults (mean age 21.96, 37.6% foreign-born) recruited through online panels, using zero-inflated negative binomial and logistic regression to examine ACEs, discrimination, nativity, and substance use.
Why This Research Matters
Understanding how childhood trauma and racism drive cannabis use in Black communities — and how nativity creates different risk profiles — can inform culturally responsive prevention and intervention strategies.
The Bigger Picture
Substance use in Black communities cannot be understood without accounting for adversity and discrimination — and the nativity finding reveals that 'Black' is not a monolithic category when it comes to cannabis risk factors.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Cross-sectional design; self-report measures; online convenience sample; cannot separate lifetime from current use patterns; nativity as binary may mask within-group diversity; ACE and discrimination scales may not capture all relevant experiences.
Questions This Raises
- ?What protective factors explain lower cannabis use among foreign-born Black youth?
- ?Would trauma-informed interventions reduce cannabis use disparities?
- ?How does acculturation change cannabis use patterns over time?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Evidence Grade:
- Theoretically grounded analysis with adequate sample and relevant nativity comparison, but cross-sectional design and online recruitment limit causal inference and generalizability.
- Study Age:
- Published 2026; reflects current Black young adult populations in the US.
- Original Title:
- Adverse Childhood Experiences, Discrimination, Nativity, and Associations with Tobacco and Cannabis Use Among Black Young Adults in the U.S.
- Published In:
- Substance use & misuse, 61(2), 227-236 (2026)
- Authors:
- Jacobs, Wura(7), Qin, Weisiyu Abraham(3), Baiden, Philip, Amuta-Jimenez, Ann, Zapolski, Tamika
- Database ID:
- RTHC-08356
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Does childhood trauma increase cannabis use?
Yes — among Black young adults, each additional adverse childhood experience reduced the odds of abstaining from cannabis by 17% and increased the likelihood of using multiple tobacco and cannabis products.
Does immigration status affect cannabis use?
Foreign-born Black young adults in the US used 40% fewer cannabis products than their US-born counterparts, suggesting that cultural background and migration experience play significant roles in substance use patterns.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-08356APA
Jacobs, Wura; Qin, Weisiyu Abraham; Baiden, Philip; Amuta-Jimenez, Ann; Zapolski, Tamika. (2026). Adverse Childhood Experiences, Discrimination, Nativity, and Associations with Tobacco and Cannabis Use Among Black Young Adults in the U.S.. Substance use & misuse, 61(2), 227-236. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2549786
MLA
Jacobs, Wura, et al. "Adverse Childhood Experiences, Discrimination, Nativity, and Associations with Tobacco and Cannabis Use Among Black Young Adults in the U.S.." Substance use & misuse, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2549786
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Adverse Childhood Experiences, Discrimination, Nativity, and..." RTHC-08356. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/jacobs-2026-adverse-childhood-experiences-discrimination
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.