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. 2024;23(1):58-71.
doi: 10.1080/15332640.2022.2050873. Epub 2022 Mar 27.

Racial discrimination and substance use among African American youth: Personal and collective self-esteem as mechanisms

Queenisha J Crichlow  1   2 , Devin E Banks  2   3 , Ian Carson  2 , Sycarah Fisher  4 , Jessica V Barnes-Najor  5 , Tamika C B Zapolski  2
Affiliations

Racial discrimination and substance use among African American youth: Personal and collective self-esteem as mechanisms

Queenisha J Crichlow et al. J Ethn Subst Abuse. 2024.

Abstract

Little is known about the mechanisms of the relationship between racial discrimination and substance use among Black youth. The current study examined the role of collective self-esteem and personal self-esteem in this relationship among Black adolescents in grades 5 through 12 (N = 1514; 57% female). Regression analyses estimated direct effects of perceived racial discrimination on substance use and indirect effects of discrimination on substance use through personal and collective self-esteem. Controlling for grade and sex, results revealed significant indirect effects such that experiences of discrimination were positively associated with substance use through lower reports of collective and personal self-esteem. Findings suggest that bolstering personal and race-related esteem may mitigate the deleterious influence of discrimination among Black youth.

Keywords: Racial discrimination; adolescence; racial identity; self-esteem; substance use.

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Figures

Fig 1.
Fig 1.
Indirect effects model examining the relationship between discrimination and substance use via collective and personal self-esteem. * Correlation is significant at p <.05. ** Correlation is significant at p < .001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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