Alcohol use in multiracial American youth compared with monoracial youth: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Although multiracial people comprise the fastest growing population in the United States, multiracial youth are nearly invisible in alcohol research. This meta-analysis synthesized the youth alcohol literature to estimate the magnitude of difference in alcohol use as a function of multiracial status. DESIGN AND MEASUREMENTS: Empirical studies reporting multiracial and monoracial comparisons in youth (aged 10-24 years) alcohol use were identified through a systematic literature search. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted using 85 effect sizes extracted from 16 studies assessing life-time, past-year, past-month and binge alcohol use. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of n=1 555 635 youth were assessed in the United States. FINDINGS: Multiracial youth are suggested to be more likely to endorse life-time alcohol use than Asian youth [number of studies (k) = 3; odds ratio (OR) = 1.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01, 3.24; p = 0.04], with significant between-study heterogeneity (Q = 8.42; p < 0.001; I2  = 76%) in effect size comparisons. Multiracial youth are suggested to be more likely to endorse past-month alcohol use than Black (k = 6; OR = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.38, 1.71; p < 0.001) and Asian (k = 4; OR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.52, 2.88; p < 0.001) youth, but less likely than White (k = 6; OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.84, 0.91; p < 0.001) youth, with significant between-study heterogeneity for Black youth (Q = 11.94; p = 0.03; I2  = 58%) in effect size comparisons. Lastly, multiracial youth are suggested to be more likely to endorse binge alcohol use than Black (k = 4; OR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.62, 2.44; p < 0.001) and Asian (k = 4; OR = 2.82, 95% CI = 2.28, 3.48; p < 0.001) youth, but less likely than White (k = 5; OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.70, 0.81; p < 0.001) and American Indian/Alaska Native (k = 3; OR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.71, 0.85; p < 0.001) youth, with significant between-study heterogeneity among Black (Q = 23.99; p < 0.001; I2  = 87%) and Asian (Q = 17.76; p < 0.001; I2  = 83%) youth in effect size comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: In the United States, multiracial youth report distinct alcohol use patterns compared with monoracial youth and may be at elevated alcohol use risk compared with Black and Asian youth.

Racial/ethnic discrimination, ADH1B*3, and coping-motivated drinking among Black college students.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Discrimination due to race and/or ethnicity can be a pervasive stressor for Black college students in the United States beyond general negative life events and has demonstrated associations with adverse health and alcohol outcomes. Genetics may confer individual differences in the risk of drinking to cope with discrimination-related stress. This study tested whether associations of racial/ethnic discrimination with coping drinking motives and alcohol use differ as a function of a well-documented variant in the alcohol dehydrogenase 1B gene (ADH1B*3). METHODS: Cross-sectional data were obtained from 241 Black students (Mage = 20.04 [range = 18-53]; 66% female) attending a predominantly White university in the northeastern United States. Participants provided a saliva sample for genotyping and self-reported on their racial/ethnic discrimination experiences, coping drinking motives, and past-month total alcohol quantity. RESULTS: Path models demonstrated that associations of discrimination with alcohol quantity directly or indirectly through coping drinking motives did not differ as a function of ADH1B*3, after controlling for gender, age, negative life events, and potential confounding interactions of covariates with model predictors. Regardless of ADH1B*3, greater experience of negative life events was associated with higher coping drinking motives, which in turn were associated with greater alcohol quantity. CONCLUSION AND SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Findings represent a novel investigation into gene-environment interplay in associations of alcohol use with racial/ethnic discrimination. Findings demonstrate coping-motivated drinking associated with negative life events within Black college drinkers regardless of ADH1B*3. Future research should leverage longitudinal designs to characterize associations of genetics, stressful experiences, and coping-motivated drinking over time.

Vicarious racial discrimination, racial identity, and alcohol-related outcomes among Black young adults: An experimental approach.

Objective: Racial discrimination is a known risk factor for alcohol-related outcomes among young Black American adults. However, vicarious racial discrimination's associations with alcohol-related outcomes and the role of racial identity in these associations remain unknown. This within-subject experiment study tested whether associations of vicarious racial discrimination with alcohol craving and attentional bias differed by three components of racial identity (centrality, private regard, and public regard). Method: Black young adult, at-risk drinkers (N = 51; Mage = 21 [SD = 3.02]; 60% female) completed two vicarious racial discrimination conditions (manipulated by video) followed by alcohol craving and attentional bias tasks. Results: Associations of vicarious discrimination with alcohol craving were exacerbated by high centrality and buffered by high private regard, but did not differ by public regard. No associations of vicarious discrimination with alcohol attention bias were found. Conclusion: Findings highlight the important role of Black racial identity in within-group differences in the impact of vicarious racial discrimination on select implicit indicators of alcohol risk among Black young adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Interaction Between the 5-Hydroxytryptamine Transporter-Linked Polymorphic Region (5-HTTLPR) and Negative Life Events in Adolescent Heavy Drinking.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates whether the reciprocal associations between negative life events and drinking over time differ as a function of 5-HTTLPR (5-hydroxytryptamine [serotonin] transporter-linked polymorphic region) genotype (i.e., candidate gene and environment interaction and correlation) using large and population-based prospective data from adolescents. METHOD: A total of 4,916 White adolescents in the United Kingdom (mean ages = 16, 17, and 18 years old over three assessment points; 47% female) were used. Tri-allelic 5-HTTLPR genotype was assessed; negative life events were assessed at ages 16 and 17; and frequency of heavy drinking was assessed at ages 16, 17, and 18. Path analyses after controlling for covariate interactions and multigroup cross-lagged analyses were conducted. RESULTS: The null findings of candidate gene and environment interaction and correlation were found in the path analyses controlling for covariate interactions, and they were replicated in the multigroup cross-lagged analyses. No moderation by 5-HTTLPR in the association of negative life events at age 16 with heavy drinking at age 17 as well as no association of negative life events at age 17 with heavy drinking at age 18 were found. Also, the 5-HTTLPR genotype did not moderate the association of heavy drinking at age 16 with negative life events at age 17. CONCLUSIONS: Using large prospective data, it appears that there is no evidence for 5-HTTLPR-moderated drinking following experience of negative life events and no support for 5-HTTLPR-moderated selection to negative life events among mid/late adolescents. This finding may inform developmental patterns in gene and environment interaction effects by showing that the effects are less pronounced in mid/late adolescence than in early adolescence.

Sleep Problems and Drinking Frequency among Urban Multiracial and Monoracial Adolescents: Role of Discrimination Experiences and Negative Mood.

Mounting evidence suggests that multiracial adolescents may be at greater risk than their monoracial peers for both sleep problems and alcohol use. However, mechanisms underlying these uniquely-heightened risky health behaviors among multiracial adolescents remain a gap in the literature. This cross-sectional study examined a risk pathway involving discrimination experiences and negative mood underlying racial disparities in concurrent sleep problems and drinking frequency. Students at an urban, socioeconomically-disadvantaged high school (N = 414; grades 9-11, Mage = 16.00 [SD = 1.08]; 57% female; 17% multiracial, 41% Black, 22% White, 18% Asian, 2% Other; 12% Hispanic/Latinx) completed a survey. Path analysis demonstrated that associations of multiracial status with sleep problems (insomnia symptom severity and insufficient weekday sleep duration), but not drinking frequencies (past-year drinking or past-2-week binge-drinking frequencies), were explained by discrimination experiences and, in turn, negative mood. In ancillary analysis excluding White students, the serial indirect risk pathway was significant for both insomnia symptom severity and past-year drinking frequency outcomes. Discrimination experiences and negative mood may function as intermediate factors contributing to racial disparities in adolescent sleep problems, although longitudinal replication is needed.

Racial discrimination and alcohol use and negative drinking consequences among Black Americans: a meta-analytical review.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Findings of the association between racial discrimination and alcohol use and related consequences are inconsistent, and the role of potential moderators in the association is largely unknown. This meta-analysis aimed to synthesize the discrimination-alcohol literature among Black Americans, estimate the magnitude of associations and explore differences as a function of sample characteristics. METHODS: Empirical studies reporting the association of racial discrimination with alcohol-related behaviors in an all-black sample were identified via systematic literature search. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted using 33 effect sizes extracted from 27 studies, all of which used US samples (n = 26 894). RESULTS: Significant positive associations were found for racial discrimination with alcohol consumption [k = 9, confidence interval (CI) = 0.08, 0.17, I2  = 49%, r = 0.12], heavy/binge drinking (k = 12, CI = 0.02, 0.10), I2  = 27%, r = 0.06), at-risk drinking (k = 4, CI = 0.06, 0.23, I2  = 0%, r = 0.14) and negative drinking consequences (k = 5, CI = 0.09, 0.25, I2  = 94%, r = 0.25), but not with alcohol use disorder (k = 3, CI = -0.01, 0.20, I2  = 90%, r = 0.10). Only alcohol consumption and negative drinking consequences showed significant between-study heterogeneity and had a sufficient quantity of studies for moderation analysis (i.e., 4 or more studies). The positive association of racial discrimination with negative drinking consequences was stronger among younger samples; the association with alcohol consumption did not differ by age or proportion of men. CONCLUSIONS: Experiences of racial discrimination are associated with diverse alcohol-related behaviors among Black Americans, with a stronger association with problematic alcohol use, particularly among younger individuals.

Racial discrimination, binge drinking, and negative drinking consequences among black college students: serial mediation by depressive symptoms and coping motives.

Objectives: Experiences of racial discrimination have been associated with diverse negative health outcomes among racial minorities. However, extant findings of the association between racial discrimination and alcohol behaviors among Black college students are mixed. The current study examined mediating roles of depressive symptoms and coping drinking motives in the association of perceived racial discrimination with binge drinking and negative drinking consequences. Design: Data were obtained from a cross-sectional study of Black college students attending a predominantly White institution in the northeastern US (N = 251, 66% female, mean age = 20 years). Results: Results from path analysis showed that, when potential mediators were not considered, perceived racial discrimination was positively associated with negative drinking consequences but not frequency of binge drinking. Serial multiple mediation analysis showed that depressive symptoms and in turn coping drinking motives partially mediated the associations of perceived racial discrimination with both binge drinking frequency and negative drinking consequences (after controlling for sex, age, and negative life events). Conclusions: Perceived racial discrimination is directly associated with experiences of alcohol-related problems, but not binge drinking behaviors among Black college students. Affective responses to perceived racial discrimination experiences and drinking to cope may serve as risk mechanisms for alcohol-related problems in this population. Implications for prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.

Interaction between the ADH1B*3 allele and drinking motives on alcohol use among Black college students.

BACKGROUND: Black young adults have lower rates of alcohol use than other racial groups. Genetic factors may protect against drinking. Specifically, the ADH1B*3 allele is present almost exclusively in Black populations and has been protective against alcohol use and alcohol use disorder. The protective effects of the ADH1B*3 allele, however, may differ as a function of alcohol-promoting cognitions. OBJECTIVES: The current study examined whether ADH1B*3 moderated relations of drinking motives with alcohol consumption among Black college drinkers. METHODS: Participants were 241 undergraduate students of self-identified Black race (mean age = 20 years; 66% female) who reported consuming alcohol at least once in the past 30 days. RESULTS: ADH1B*3 was not significantly associated with drinking motives or drinking behaviors. However, significant, albeit small, interaction effects of ADH1B*3 with drinking motives on drinking behavior were found; the presence of an ADH1B*3 allele protected against greater drinking quantity among students with high social motives (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.95, 95% CI [0.92, 0.99]) and against frequent drinking among students with low coping motives (IRR = 1.06, 95% CI [1.01, 1.11]). CONCLUSION: These findings represent a novel demonstration of genetic modulation of alcohol-related cognitions within Black college drinkers, although replication is needed. Results represent an initial step toward better characterizing individual differences in associations of drinking motives with drinking behavior, with potential implications for interventions aimed at motivational processes in alcohol use.

Interaction between ADH1B*3 and alcohol-facilitating social environments in alcohol behaviors among college students of african descent.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although alcohol-facilitating social environmental factors, such as alcohol offers and high perceived peer drinking norms, have been extensively studied as determinants of college drinking, their role among college students of African descent remains understudied. Furthermore, gene-environment interaction research suggests that the effects of alcohol-facilitating environments may differ as a function of genetic factors. Specifically, the alcohol dehydrogenase gene's ADH1B*3 allele, found almost exclusively in persons of African descent, may modulate the association of risky social environments with alcohol behaviors. The current study examined whether the ADH1B*3 allele attenuated the relationship between alcohol-facilitating environments (ie, alcohol offers and perceived peer drinking norms) and alcohol behaviors. METHOD: Participants were 241 undergraduate students who self-identified as being of African descent (mean age = 20 years [SD = 4.11]; 66% female). RESULTS: Significant interaction effects of ADH1B*3 with alcohol offers were found on alcohol use frequency (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.14) and on drinking consequences (IRR = 1.21). ADH1B*3 also interacted with perceived peer norms on drinking consequences (IRR = 1.41). Carriers of the ADH1B*3 allele drank less frequently and experienced fewer negative consequences than non-carriers when exposed to lower levels of alcohol offers and perceived peer drinking. In contrast, in high alcohol-facilitating environments, no protective genetic effect was observed. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that ADH1B*3 may protect college students of African descent against alcohol outcomes, although only in low alcohol-facilitating environments. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Findings add to the growing body of knowledge regarding genetic and social determinants of alcohol behaviors among college students of African descent. (Am J Addict 2017;26:349-356).