title: Perceived racism and alcohol consequences among African American and Caucasian college students.
abstract: Few studies have assessed relationships between perceived racism, racism-related stress, and alcohol problems. The current study examined these relationships within the context of tension reduction models of alcohol consumption. Participants were 94 African American and 189 Caucasian college freshmen who completed an online survey assessing perceived racism, alcohol consequences, alcohol consumption, negative affect, and deviant behavior. Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that racism-related stress predicted alcohol consequences for both African American and Caucasian college students, even after controlling for alcohol consumption, negative affect, and behavioral deviance. The frequency of racist events predicted alcohol consequences for Caucasian but not African American students. These findings highlight the need to address racism and racism-related stress in college-based alcohol prevention and intervention efforts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. grekine@wayne.edu
authors.forename: Emily R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Grekin
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception; D063505:Racism / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult