Racial Prejudice and Unfair Treatment: Interactive Effects With Poverty and Foreign Nativity on Problem Drinking

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: Although racial and ethnic minorities are often disadvantaged in multiple ways, little research has examined the interactive effects of multiple forms of disadvantage in these populations. The current study describes the independent and interactive effects of perceived prejudice, perceived unfair treatment, poverty, and foreign nativity on problem drinking outcomes among Black and Latino adults. Method: The data source was Black (n = 504) and Latino (n = 766) drinkers from the nationally representative, weighted 2005 National Alcohol Survey. Perceived prejudice was assessed using a composite measure of racial stigma consciousness; perceived unfair treatment was assessed using a single item. Respondents whose per capita household income was below the 2004 poverty guidelines were coded as "poor"; nativity status was assessed among Latinos. Outcomes included past-year drinking to drunkenness, any drinking-related consequences, and two or more dependence symptoms. Results: In bivariate tests, higher levels of unfair treatment were signifi cantly associated with all three outcomes among Blacks (marginally so for drunkenness) and dependence symptoms among Latinos. Further, higher racial stigma was signifi cantly associated with higher rates of any drinking consequences among Latinos. In multivariate logistic regressions, six signifi cant or marginally signifi cant interactions emerged. For each, the pattern of results suggested stronger associations between perceived prejudice/unfair treatment and problem drinking given either poverty or foreign nativity. Conclusions: Although fi ndings were somewhat mixed, the pattern of results tentatively supports the hypothesis that associations between problem drinking and both prejudice and unfair treatment can be exacerbated given the presence of other stressors, particularly among Latinos. Results extend the literature on the health consequences of prejudice and discrimination, highlighting important effects of cumulative adversity and suggesting a need to focus particularly on drinkers exposed to the combined effects of multiple stressors in prevention and treatment efforts. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 72, 361-370, 2011)

Social Adversity, Stress, and Alcohol Problems: Are Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Poor More Vulnerable?

“…These fi ndings are in keeping with those of Dawson and colleagues (2005), who showed that poverty exacerbates the effects of job-related stressors on drinking frequency and alcohol consumption among past-year drinkers. They are also in line with our prior fi nding that poverty intensifi es the effects of unfair treatment and racial stigma on drinking outcomes, particularly among Hispanics (Zemore et al, 2011).…”

“…One exception was our previous study of African Americans and Hispanics showing that poverty exacerbates the effects of social adversity on drinking outcomes, particularly among Hispanics (Zemore et al, 2011). More often, alcohol studies of differential vulnerability have compared racial/ethnic minorities with Whites.…”

“…A number of studies have found that chronic exposure to racial bias and unfair treatment is associated with exces-sive alcohol use and problems (Chae et al, 2008b;Gee et al, 2007;Martin et al, 2003;Mulia et al, 2008b;Yen et al, 1999;Zemore et al, 2011). Research on these social adversities has been largely directed at understanding minority health and racial disparities in health rather than socioeconomic disparities per se.…”

Effects of Economic Disruptions on Alcohol Use and Problems: Why Do African Americans Fare Worse?

“…The transformed score was centered around the sample mean for use in interaction with job loss (Aiken & West, 1991). The three-item measure is associated with reporting greater negative alcohol-related consequences Zemore et al, 2011).…”

“…To date, no studies have examined the role of racial stigma in explaining the effects of job loss on alcohol outcomes in a large and racially/ethnically diverse sample as we do in the current analysis. Previous studies have largely focused on the role of racial stigma in explaining alcohol outcomes (Mulia & Zemore, 2012;Zemore et al, 2011).…”