Discrimination from family and substance use for multiracial individuals. (May 2019) - Franco, Marisa
Abstract: Whereas Multiracial people exhibit heightened rates of substance use, existing research has yet to account for why. The current study examines whether Multiracial people's experiences of discrimination from family may explain their substance use behaviors, and furthermore, whether compromised mental health indirectly explains relationships between familial discrimination and substance use. Online cross-sectional survey data was collected from ( N = 466) Multiracial participants. Negative binomial regression analysis indicated that discrimination from family predicted drug use above and beyond general discrimination. Results of bootstrapping analysis revealed that the pathway from discrimination from family to drug use is partially explained by anxiety and depressive symptoms. The implications of these findings for addressing heightened rates of substance abuse among the Multiracial population are discussed. Highlights: Discrimination from family predicts substance use for Multiracial individuals. Anxiety symptoms explain links between familial discrimination and substance use. Depressive symptoms explain links between familial discrimination and substance use.