Racism and alcohol-related problems among Black adults: The role of negative emotionality to experiencing racism

Introduction

Although Black Americans tend to consume less alcohol than non-Hispanic/Latine White Americans, Black Americans who do drink alcohol appear at especially high risk for negative alcohol-related problems. This alcohol-based health disparity indicates a need to identify psycho-sociocultural factors that may play a role in drinking and related problems to inform prevention and treatment efforts. Minority stress-based models posit that stressors such as racism increase negative emotions, which may be associated with using substances such as alcohol to cope with negative emotions. Yet, little research has directly assessed emotional reactions to racism and whether it plays a role in drinking-related behaviors.

Method

Participants were 164 Black American undergraduates at a racially/ethnically diverse university who endorsed current alcohol use 18–48 (M = 21.7, SD = 4.3). Participants completed an online survey regarding their experiences with racism and alcohol-related behaviors.

Results

Experiencing more frequent racism was related to greater negative emotions experienced in response to racism (i.e., negative emotional reactivity to racism) and alcohol-related problems. More frequent racism was related to more alcohol-related problems via the sequential effects of negative emotional reactivity to racism and coping motivated drinking.

Conclusions

These data indicate that the experience of negative emotions that occur after experiencing racism and attempts to cope with those negative emotions by consuming alcohol play important roles in drinking behaviors among Black Americans.