Abstract
Among the many social determinants linked to adolescent alcohol use and depression, racial and ethnic discrimination is a prevalent determinant among Latinx adolescents and adults that is largely overlooked in preventive interventions. This study explored the influence of perceived racial and ethnic discrimination on depressive symptoms and alcohol use intentions among Latinx adolescents. Additionally, the study explored the cross-generational effects of how mothers’ perceived discrimination impacts the depressive symptoms and alcohol use of the adolescent. The study used a sample of 800 inner-city Dominican and Puerto Rican adolescent–mother dyads (adolescent mean age = 12.42 years, SD = 0.81; mother mean age = 40.55 years, SD = 8.70). Employing a five-wave panel design that followed adolescents from 8th grade to 10th grade, the study found statistically significant mediation pathways which showed that adolescents’ self-reported racial and ethnic discrimination experiences were associated with increases in their immediate and long-term depressive symptoms, which in turn were associated with stronger intentions to use alcohol in the future. Further, perceived racial and ethnic discrimination experienced by Latinx mothers was associated with increases in adolescents’ intentions to drink alcohol in the future, mediated by the mothers’ depressive symptoms and subsequently the adolescents’ depressive symptoms. As discussed, these findings have wide-ranging implications for alcohol use prevention programs targeting inner-city Latinx adolescents.
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Data Availability
Data from this study is available upon reasonable request to Dr. James Jaccard at jj76@nyu.edu.
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Funding
Funding for this study was provided by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Grant R01AA016212. NIAAA had no role in the study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.
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Approval of the study was granted by the University Committee on Activities Involving Human Subjects of New York University on 11/01/2011, Number 11-8552. The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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All student-mother dyads included in the study provided parental informed consent and student assent.
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Bo, A., Jaccard, J. Perceived Racial and Ethnic Discrimination, Depression, and Alcohol Use Intentions Among Inner-City Latinx Youth: Cross-Generational Effects. Prev Sci (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-024-01695-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-024-01695-6