Perceived ethnic discrimination and cigarette smoking: examining the moderating effects of race/ethnicity and gender in a sample of Black and Latino urban adults

Abstract

Perceived ethnic discrimination has been associated with cigarette smoking in US adults in the majority of studies, but gaps in understanding remain. It is unclear if the association of discrimination to smoking is a function of lifetime or recent exposure to discrimination. Some sociodemographic and mood-related risk factors may confound the relationship of discrimination to smoking. Gender and race/ethnicity differences in this relationship have been understudied. This study examines the relationship of lifetime and recent discrimination to smoking status and frequency, controlling for sociodemographic and mood-related variables and investigating the moderating role of race/ethnicity and gender. Participants included 518 Black and Latino(a) adults from New York, US. Lifetime and past week discrimination were measured with the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire-Community Version. Ecological momentary assessment methods were used to collect data on smoking and mood every 20 min throughout one testing day using an electronic diary. Controlling for sociodemographic and mood-related variables, there was a significant association of recent (past week) discrimination exposure to current smoking. Lifetime discrimination was associated with smoking frequency, but not current smoking status. The association of recent discrimination to smoking status was moderated by race/ethnicity and gender, with positive associations emerging for both Black adults and for men. The association of lifetime discrimination on smoking frequency was not moderated by gender or race/ethnicity. Acute race/ethnicity-related stressors may be associated with the decision to smoke at all on a given day; whereas chronic stigmatization may reduce the barriers to smoking more frequently.

Interaction Between Race and Gender and Effect on Implicit Racial Bias Against Blacks

“…39 Recent experience of discrimination increases risk of smoking among Black men, but not Black women. 63 Similar gender differences in the effects of discrimination are reported for other domains of psychopathology including psychological distress, 37 depressive and anxiety symptoms, 23,24 and major depressive disorder. 61 All these findings collectively suggest that Black males are the most likely victims of discrimination, and a significant proportion of psychopathology in Black males can be attributed to discrimination.…”

Past racial discrimination exacerbates the effects of racial exclusion on negative affect, perceived control, and alcohol-risk cognitions among Black young adults

“…Although the SRE is a commonly used and valid measure (Williams & Mohammed, 2009), future studies should examine reports of discrimination over differing time frames (e.g., lifetime versus year) as well as repeated measures over time (e.g., Peterson et al, 2016). A recent study by Brondolo and colleagues (2015) found that both past week and lifetime reports of discrimination predicted smoking behaviors among Black adults. However, after controlling for gender, the effects on current smoking status were stronger for the past week reports.…”

“…The enhanced burden of cumulative experiences of racial discrimination among Blacks may exacerbate the negative experience of race-based social exclusion (Goodwin et al, 2010; Stock et al, 2015). Several researchers have proposed that frequent experiences of discrimination can take a cumulative toll and result in negative health consequences (e.g., Brondolo et al, 2015, Williams & Mohammad, 2009). Longitudinal research with Black young adults has shown that cumulative experiences of racial discrimination predict an increase in substance use and risky sex (Gerrard et al, 2012; Stock et al, 2013).…”

Intracultural accusations of assimilation and alcohol use severity among Hispanic emerging adults: Moderating effects of acculturation, enculturation, and gender.

“…In addition to these hypotheses, three-way interactions between acculturation/enculturation domains, family accusations of assimilation, and gender were explored in relation to alcohol use severity. These analyses were conducted based on differential gender effects of cultural stressors on substance use (Brondolo et al, 2015), differential gender effects of acculturation on alcohol use (Caetano & Clark, 2003), and gender differences in alcohol consumption (Eaton et al, 2012). …”