摘要：Objectives. This study was designed to test hypotheses about the prospective association of adolescents’ perceptions of discrimination with increases in substance use and the processes that mediate this association. Methods. African American youths residing in rural Georgia (n = 573; mean age = 16.0 years) provided longitudinal data on their experiences with discrimination, substance use, school engagement, and affiliations with substance-using peers. Results. For male youths, perceived discrimination was significantly related to increases in substance use, and, as hypothesized, this association was mediated by the contributions of perceived discrimination to decreases in school engagement and increases in affiliations with substance-using peers. Analyses also indicated that discrimination influences substance use rather than vice versa. Conclusions. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that high levels of discrimination are linked to increases in substance use for African American male adolescents. Historically, rural residence has protected African American adolescents from high-risk behaviors prevalent in urban areas. Recent epidemiologic data, however, indicate that African American adolescents in rural areas are engaging in substance use at rates equal to or exceeding those of youths who live in densely populated inner cities. 1–3 Substance use is a leading cause of accidents, injuries, and disability among African Americans aged 15 to 24 years. 4 It predicts the likelihood of infection with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections; affects future educational attainment, behavior problems, depressive symptoms, unintended pregnancies, involvement with the criminal justice system, ability to find and keep employment, establishment and maintenance of family relationships; and leads to drug abuse and dependence during adulthood. 5–8 The experience of discrimination has been identified as a stressor with the potential to increase African American youths’ vulnerability to a host of problems during adolescence, including substance use. 9 The primary purpose of this study was to test hypotheses regarding the influence of perceived discrimination on substance use and the psychosocial processes that account for these effects. Research has established that the experience of unfair treatment based on race is common among African American adults 10 and adolescents. 11 Associations have been documented between self-reported discrimination and various forms of substance use, including smoking, 12 alcohol consumption, 13 and use and abuse of other drugs. 14 The stress-coping model that has framed much of the research on the effects of discrimination 15,16 posits that frequent experiences with discrimination deplete coping resources and increase the attractiveness of avoidant coping strategies, such as substance use, because drug use offers temporary respite from discrimination-induced stress. Almost all of these studies, however, were cross-sectional (see Gibbons et al. 17 for an exception), which limits their ability to determine whether substance use is a consequence or a cause of discrimination and to examine the intermediate processes that account for the influence of discrimination on substance use. The primary purposes of this study were to test the hypothesis that perceived discrimination will forecast increases in substance use across adolescence rather than the reverse. Recent research suggests that racial discrimination may affect male and female youths differently. 9,18 For example, Brody et al. 9 found that discrimination was a more powerful predictor of conduct problems for male adolescents than for female adolescents. Given the comorbidity of substance use and conduct problems, we hypothesized that the influence of discrimination would be more apparent among male than female youths. A secondary purpose of this study was to investigate the processes through which perceived discrimination results in increases in substance use. We propose that African American adolescents who feel devalued and demoralized by perceived discrimination become less inclined to accept conventional values and pursuits; hence, they come to view school, a major social institution, as irrelevant and gravitate toward peers who also reject conventional values. This is consistent with findings that youths who experience racial discrimination report more negative beliefs about the usefulness of school, lower academic efficacy, 19 and lower grade point averages. 20 These youths subsequently become more prone to affiliate with like-minded peers who sanction and encourage nonconventional and risky behavior. 21 Because declines in school engagement and affiliations with substance-using peers are proximal risk mechanisms known for onset and escalation of substance use, 21 we expected an indirect effect of perceived discrimination on increases in substance use mediated through its effect on decreasing school engagement and increasing affiliations with substance-using peers. 22,23
