Among 2,722 Hispanic students followed from 9th grade through their early twenties, those who experienced increasing or consistently high racial/ethnic discrimination were at significantly higher risk for marijuana and other substance use.
Read this if you work with Hispanic youth or are interested in how social stressors like discrimination affect substance use.
All three higher-discrimination trajectory groups showed elevated substance use risk spanning marijuana, alcohol, and hard drugs.
What the researchers found
Researchers identified four distinct trajectories of perceived racial/ethnic discrimination among Hispanic youth from ages 14 to 23:
1. Low and stable discrimination
2. Increasing discrimination
3. Initially high but decreasing discrimination
4. High and stable discrimination
Compared to the low-stable group, all three groups experiencing higher discrimination had elevated substance use. The increasing discrimination group had higher risk for alcohol, marijuana, and hard drug use. The high-stable group showed the same pattern. Even the group whose discrimination decreased over time still had higher risk for cigarette and alcohol use, suggesting that early exposure to discrimination may have lasting effects even when the experience improves.
The finding that different discrimination trajectories all led to elevated substance use suggests that experiencing discrimination at any point during adolescence or emerging adulthood is a risk factor.
Why it matters
This study establishes that the pattern of discrimination over time, not just its presence at any single point, matters for substance use outcomes. The finding that even decreasing discrimination still elevated some substance use risks suggests that the damage from early discrimination may not be fully reversible and that prevention needs to be proactive rather than reactive.
The numbers in context
2,722 Hispanic students. Four discrimination trajectory groups identified. Increasing discrimination: higher risk of alcohol, marijuana, and hard drug use. High-stable discrimination: higher risk of alcohol, marijuana, and hard drug use. Decreasing discrimination: higher risk of cigarettes and alcohol.
How the study worked
Longitudinal cohort study of 2,722 Hispanic students followed from 9th grade through emerging adulthood (approximately ages 14-23). Perceived discrimination was measured at multiple time points and growth mixture modeling identified four trajectory groups. Substance use outcomes (cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, hard drugs) were compared across trajectory groups.
What this study cannot tell us
All participants were Hispanic, so results may not generalize to other racial/ethnic groups. Self-reported discrimination and substance use are both subject to recall and reporting biases. The study cannot determine whether discrimination caused substance use or whether shared underlying factors drove both experiences.
How to read the evidence
Strong evidence from a large, longitudinal study with sophisticated trajectory modeling and appropriate controls across nearly a decade of follow-up.
When this study was published
Published in 2016. Research on discrimination and health outcomes continues to evolve with more nuanced methodological approaches.
The bigger picture
Racial/ethnic discrimination is a social determinant of health that affects substance use through stress, coping, and social marginalization. This study's longitudinal, trajectory-based approach reveals that the timing and pattern of discrimination exposure matter, not just whether someone has ever experienced it.
Questions still open
- Would culturally responsive interventions that address discrimination reduce substance use in Hispanic youth? Do different types of discrimination (institutional vs interpersonal) have different effects on substance use? Would building coping skills specifically for discrimination reduce the substance use pathway?
Common questions
Does discrimination lead to drug use?
Can reducing discrimination reduce substance use?
Read the original research
Trajectories of perceived discrimination from adolescence to emerging adulthood and substance use among Hispanic youth in Los Angeles.
Addictive behaviors, 53, 108-12
Citation
Unger, Jennifer B; Soto, Daniel W; Baezconde-Garbanati, Lourdes. (2016). Trajectories of perceived discrimination from adolescence to emerging adulthood and substance use among Hispanic youth in Los Angeles.. Addictive behaviors, 53, 108-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.10.009
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