Prevalence and correlates of substance use in Black, White, and biracial Black –White adolescents: Evidence for a biracial intermediate phenomena.

This study compared the prevalence and correlates of substance use among Black, White, and biracial Black –White youth. Data were derived from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent and Adult Health, which is a longitudinal investigation using stratified random sampling to study health behaviors. After controlling for sociodemographic factors and using weighted Poisson and logistic regression, the authors found the substance-use prevalence rates of Black–White youth to be intermediate to the higher rates of Whites and lower rates of Blacks. In addition, Black–White youth’s scores on most covariates were intermediate to those of the monoracial groups. Family factors were more importa nt in explaining higher substance use than other contextual factors. School factors seem to be important in explaining lower substance use for Black–White youth. Correlates of substance use for Black–White youth were not identical to those of either Black or White youth. More research on the obs erved intermediate phenomena among biracial youth vis-à-vis prevalence, correlates, and causes of substance use is needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Source: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research