Abstract
Discrimination based on race/ethnicity, sexual minority status, and gender is associated with higher rates of drinking, drug use and risky sexual behavior during adolescence. The current study explored variation in the link between these three types of discrimination and health risk behaviors by focusing on how this association differed according to externalizing problem behavior status. Participants in the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were asked about discrimination and their drinking, drug use and risky sexual behavior (age 15; 50% female, 82% White, n = 939). The association between discrimination and health risk behaviors varied according to both externalizing problem status and the type of discrimination, suggesting that individual-level characteristics (i.e., externalizing behaviors) shape variation in the consequences of discrimination for adolescent health outcomes. Ultimately, these findings point to the need for future research to better understand which adolescents are the most vulnerable to the consequences of discrimination, and when these vulnerabilities are most likely to occur.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the study participants and research staff. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development or the National Institutes of Health.
Authors’ Contributions
AM conceived of the study, designed and performed the analyses, performed the analyses and drafted the initial version of the manuscript. AB conceived of the study, participated in the design of the analyses, and edited all drafts of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
The first author wishes to acknowledge funding for this project from her research chair from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The second author acknowledges her funding from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (K01HD087479) and that for the Population Research Center, with which she is affiliated (P2CHD042849, NICHD).
Data Sharing and Declaration
The data that support the findings of this study are available from The National Institute of Child Health and Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development Series but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study, and so are not publicly available. However, data are available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research.
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Martin-Storey, A., Benner, A. Externalizing Behaviors Exacerbate the Link between Discrimination and Adolescent Health Risk Behaviors. J Youth Adolescence 48, 1724–1735 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01020-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01020-3