Multiple Discrimination and Substance Use Intention in Late Childhood: Findings From the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to investigate longitudinal, bidirectional associations between discrimination due to multiple reasons (race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, weight; termed multiple discrimination) and substance use (SU) intention in late childhood. These associations were compared across youth with no, single, and multiple (i.e., intersecting) marginalized identities based on race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and overweight status. METHODS: Data were drawn from a national sample of youth in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (N = 8,530; 9-12 years old). Youth reported both their experiences of multiple discrimination (the number of forms of discrimination youth experienced) and SU intention at one-year and two-year follow-ups. Theoretically relevant covariates were included. RESULTS: Compared to non-marginalized youth (n = 2,689) and youth with single marginalized identities (n = 3,399), youth with intersecting marginalized identities (n = 2,442) reported the highest SU intention and multiple discrimination across waves. Only for this last group, multiple discrimination predicted stronger SU intention subsequently (ß = 0.07, 95% confidence interval [0.02, 0.11]), whereas stronger SU intention predicted lower levels of multiple discrimination over time (ß = -0.06, 95% confidence interval [-0.09, -0.02]). Sensitivity analyses yielded similar patterns with some nuances among subgroups of youth with varying intersecting marginalized identities. DISCUSSION: Multiple discrimination predicted stronger SU intention over time in late childhood, particularly among youth with intersecting marginalized identities. Policies and practices should consider addressing multiple discrimination to reduce SU disparities among diverse youth.

Embracing Race, Resisting Oppression: African American Parents as Experienced Guides for Navigating Racial Oppression: Dismantling Systems of Racism and Oppression during Adolescence.

This study examined how discrimination experiences, beliefs, and coping in middle adolescence contributed to heterogeneity in African American parent-adolescent relationship (PAR) profiles three years later. Data were from the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study in which 589 African American caregivers (92% female; Mage = 39.15, SD = 6.72; range = 27-74 years old) were interviewed when youth were in 8th and 11th grades. We used previously identified profiles of ethnic-racial socialization, general parenting practices, and relationship quality: No-nonsense High Socializers, Indulgent Average Socializers, Unengaged Silent Socializers, and Authoritative Cultural Socializers. Results indicated that parents' discrimination experiences, racial coping self-efficacy, and racial coping socialization when youth were in the 8th grade predicted membership in PAR profiles three years later controlling for youth gender, parent marital status, and family socioeconomic status.