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.
Public health researchers, trauma-informed care providers, substance use prevention programs for Black youth, and cultural competency educators.
What the researchers 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.
Why it 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 numbers in context
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 the study worked
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.
What this study cannot 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.
How to read the evidence
Theoretically grounded analysis with adequate sample and relevant nativity comparison, but cross-sectional design and online recruitment limit causal inference and generalizability.
When this study was published
Published 2026; reflects current Black young adult populations in the US.
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.
Questions still open
- 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?
Common questions
Does childhood trauma increase cannabis use?
Does immigration status affect cannabis use?
Read the original research
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
Citation
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
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