Historical trauma and polysubstance use in Black young adults: The role of contemporary racism.

Abstract

Objectives: The legacy of slavery renders Black individuals vulnerable to the harmful effects of historical trauma which may interact with contemporary racism-related experiences to increase substance use. We examined the associations between historical and contemporary racism-related experiences (i.e., historical loss thinking, major racial discrimination events, racial microaggressions, and internalized racism) and polysubstance use in a group of Black young adults. Method: Black young adults (N = 163; 60% female) aged 18-35 years (M = 25.7, SD = 3.27) completed surveys online. Results: Historical loss thinking (b = 0.03, 95% CI [0.01, 0.05], p = .003), racial microaggressions (b = 0.03, 95% CI [0.02, 0.04], p , .001), major racial discrimination events (b = 0.42, 95% CI [0.30, 0.53], p , .001), and internalized racism (b = 0.49, 95% CI [0.33, 0.65], p , .001) were independently associated with past 12-month polysubstance use. Major racial discrimination events showed the largest association with polysubstance use (β = 0.26, 95% CI [0.08, 0.45], p = .006). No significant interactions between historical loss thinking and contemporary racism-related experiences were observed. Conclusions: Findings suggest an association between substance use and historical and contemporary-related experiences among Black young adults. This may suggest that experiences with racism contextualized within historical and contemporary manifestations may impact risk for polysubstance use among Black young adults. Clinical Impact StatementMajor racial discriminatory events, internalized racism, and racial microaggressions are more relevant risk factors for past 12-month polysubstance use among Black young adults, though historical loss thinking showed independent effects. This study shows the importance of exploring various forms of discrimination on substance use outcomes.