Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Nov;60(11):2603-2612.
doi: 10.1007/s00127-025-02939-8. Epub 2025 Jul 2.

The association of witnessing violence with alcohol and cannabis expectancies among Black, Latinx, and White youth: considering neighborhood context

Carolyn E Sartor  1   2 , Nicole Kennelly  3 , Margret Z Powell  4 , Tammy Chung  3 , Shawn J Latendresse  4 , Vivia V McCutcheon  5
Affiliations

The association of witnessing violence with alcohol and cannabis expectancies among Black, Latinx, and White youth: considering neighborhood context

Carolyn E Sartor et al. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2025 Nov.

Abstract

Purpose: To identify associations of past-year witnessing violence with expectancies (anticipated effects) for alcohol and cannabis use in Black, Latinx, and White youth, including possible variations by level of neighborhood advantage and/or race/ethnicity.

Methods: Data were drawn from Follow-up 3 of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (n=7,332; weighted distributions: 45.53% girl, 52.33% boy, 2.14% other gender; 11.80% Black, 25.13% Latinx, 63.07% White; weighted mean age=12.94 [SE=0.01]). Positive and negative expectancies were measured using the AEQ-AB for alcohol and the MEEQ-B for cannabis. Neighborhood disadvantage was captured via the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) and analyzed as quartiles. General linear models were fitted to data for each of the four expectancies scores, adjusting for socioeconomic status indicators and testing for witnessing violence by race/ethnicity interactions. Quartile-specific regression coefficients were produced.

Results: Witnessing violence was most prevalent in the highest (most disadvantaged) ADI quartile. Across quartiles, positive alcohol expectancies (βs:0.12-0.26) and positive cannabis expectancies (βs:0.20-0.38) were elevated in youth who witnessed violence; associations were weakest in the lowest quartile. Associations with negative expectancies were non-significant for alcohol and lower only in the second highest quartile for cannabis. All race/ethnicity interactions were non-significant.

Conclusions: Risk conferred by witnessing violence manifests early in the development of alcohol and cannabis use, shaping anticipated positive effects even before many youth initiate use. In addition to lower exposure, residing in an advantaged neighborhood may modestly mitigate risk associated with witnessing violence for developing positive expectancies, underscoring the importance of intervening early with youth in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Keywords: Black; Latinx; Substance use expectancies; Witnessing violence; Youth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests.

References

    1. Miech RA, Johnston LD, Patrick ME, O’Malley PM (2024) Monitoring the future National survey results on drug use, 1975–2024: overview and detailed results for secondary school students. Monitoring the Future Monograph Series. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
    1. Ramos-Olazagasti MA, Bird HR, Canino GJ, Duarte CS (2017) Childhood adversity and early initiation of alcohol use in two representative samples of Puerto Rican youth. J Youth Adolesc 46(1):28–44. 10.1007/s10964-016-0575-2 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pinchevsky GM, Wright EM, Fagan AA (2013) Gender differences in the effects of exposure to violence on adolescent substance use. Violence Vict 28(1):122–144. 10.1891/0886-6708.28.1.122 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fagan AA, Wright EM, Pinchevsky GM (2015) Exposure to violence, substance use, and neighborhood context. Soc Sci Res 49:314–326. 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2014.08.015 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kravitz-Wirtz N, Bruns A, Aubel AJ, Zhang X, Buggs SA (2022) Inequities in community exposure to deadly gun violence by race/ethnicity, poverty, and neighborhood disadvantage among youth in large U.S. Cities. J Urban Health 99(4):610–625. 10.1007/s11524-022-00656-0 - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources