Why now? Examining antecedents for substance use initiation among African American adolescents

• Published in: Development and psychopathology Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 719 - 734
• Main Authors: Zapolski, Tamika C B, Yu, Tianyi, Brody, Gene H, Banks, Devin E, Barton, Allen W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Cambridge University Press 01.05.2020
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; African Americans; Age; Alcohol use; Black or African American; Cannabis; Child; Child development; Cigarettes; Drug use; Ethnicity; Humans; Influence; Marijuana; Minority & ethnic groups; Peers; Personality traits; Race; Racial discrimination; Racism; Risk factors; Self esteem; Smoking; Substance use; Substance-Related Disorders; Teenagers; White People; Young Adult; alcohol; African Americans; adolescence; marijuana; tobacco; initiation
• ISSN: 0954-5794; 1469-2198
• DOI: 10.1017/S0954579419000713

Current adolescent substance use risk models have inadequately predicted use for African Americans, offering limited knowledge about differential predictability as a function of developmental period. Among a sample of 500 African American youth (ages 11-21), four risk indices (i.e., social risk, attitudinal risk, intrapersonal risk, and racial discrimination risk) were examined in the prediction of alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette initiation during early (ages 11-13), mid (ages 16-18), and late (ages 19-21) adolescence. Results showed that when developmental periods were combined, racial discrimination was the only index that predicted initiation for all three substances. However, when risk models were stratified based on developmental period, variation was found within and across substance types. Results highlight the importance of racial discrimination in understanding substance use initiation among African American youth and the need for tailored interventions based on developmental stage.