Multiple Discrimination and Substance Use Intention in Late Childhood: Findings From the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study

Purpose The study aimed to investigate longitudinal, bidirectional associations between discrimination due to multiple reasons (race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, weight; termed multiple discrimination) and substance use (SU) intention in late childhood. These associations were compared across youth with no, single, and multiple (i.e., intersecting) marginalized identities based on race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and overweight status. Methods Data were drawn from a national sample of youth in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (N = 8,530; 9–12 years old). Youth reported both their experiences of multiple discrimination (the number of forms of discrimination youth experienced) and SU intention at one-year and two-year follow-ups. Theoretically relevant covariates were included. Results Compared to non-marginalized youth (n = 2,689) and youth with single marginalized identities (n = 3,399), youth with intersecting marginalized identities (n = 2,442) reported the highest SU intention and multiple discrimination across waves. Only for this last group, multiple discrimination predicted stronger SU intention subsequently (β = 0.07, 95% confidence interval [0.02, 0.11]), whereas stronger SU intention predicted lower levels of multiple discrimination over time (β = −0.06, 95% confidence interval [-0.09, −0.02]). Sensitivity analyses yielded similar patterns with some nuances among subgroups of youth with varying intersecting marginalized identities. Discussion Multiple discrimination predicted stronger SU intention over time in late childhood, particularly among youth with intersecting marginalized identities. Policies and practices should consider addressing multiple discrimination to reduce SU disparities among diverse youth.