Everyday ethnic discrimination and early substance use based on hair samples in high-risk racial/ethnic minority early adolescents.

Abstract

Objectives: Although racially and ethnically minoritized youth are more likely to experience adverse effects of substance use, and substance use before age 14 is strongly associated with an elevated risk of later substance use disorders, there is limited research identifying risk factors for early substance use. The study examined the role of experiencing ethnic discrimination from teachers, other adults outside of school, and other students in predicting early substance use (measured with hair toxicology reports).

Methods: The study used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. The analytic data were drawn from racially and ethnically minoritized participants (N = 269; 50.2% female; M_age = 11.20, SD = 0.86) who provided hair samples at the 1-year (Y1) and 2-year (Y2) follow-ups in 2017-2020 and were identified as at risk for substance use. Participants reported their exposure to ethnic discrimination from teachers, other adults outside of school, and other students. Hair samples were analyzed for evidence of substance use.

Results: Frequentist and Bayesian cross-sectional logistic regressions (discrimination and substance use from the same wave) showed that experiencing ethnic discrimination from teachers was associated with an increased risk of substance use based on hair samples. Only the Bayesian analyses showed ethnic discrimination from other adults was also associated with risk of substance use reflected in hair.

Conclusions: Experiencing ethnic discrimination from teachers, and possibly other adults outside of school, is a significant risk factor for early substance use. Interventions should address teacher- and adult-perpetrated discrimination to reduce the risk of early substance use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).