Abstract
Objective: To examine perceived discrimination and substance use among Latino high school students. Methods: Latino 9th graders (N=1332) completed self-report measures of perceived discrimination and substance use behavior. Results: Perceived discrimination was associated with lifetime use measures of smoking (OR=1.73, P<0.01), alcohol (OR=1.53, P<0.01), marijuana (OR=1.70, P<0.01), and inhalants (OR=1.50, P<0.05); and past 30 day measures of smoking (OR=2.54, P<0.01), alcohol (OR=1.63, P<0.01), marijuana (OR=1.95, P<0.01), and inhalants (OR=1.64, P<0.01), and binge drinking (OR=1.84, P<0.01). Conclusions: Latino adolescents who have higher perceptions of discrimination are at risk for substance use. Interventions to help Latino adolescents cope with feelings of discrimination may be a useful addition to substance use prevention programs.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 718-727 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | American Journal of Health Behavior |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2009 |
Keywords
- Adolescent
- Discrimination
- Latino
- Substance use
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- Social Psychology
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health