“…Equally plausible, but also largely unsupported, is the belief that there is a causal relation between discrimination and substance use among African Americans. It has been suggested, for example, that experience with racism increases the likelihood that African Americans will smoke cigarettes (Singleton, Harrell, & Kelly, 1986), drink alcohol (Brown & Tooley, 1989; Sanders-Phillips, 1999), and use and abuse substances in general (Clark et al, 1999; Curtis-Boles & Jenkins-Monroe, 2000; Williams & Neighbors, 2001; Windle, Shope, & Bukstein, 1996; Wright, 2001). In fact, a number of studies have found evidence of positive correlations between substance use and either perceived discrimination or a belief that racism toward African Americans continues to exist in the United States (Sanders-Phillips, 1999), but these studies have also used cross-sectional designs.…”