title: Prevalence and correlates of substance use in Black, White, and biracial Black-White adolescents: Evidence for a biracial intermediate phenomena.
abstract: Most substance-use prevention interventions are based on the implicit assumption that risk and protective factors for substance use are the same for biracial and monoracial youth. However, preliminary research suggests this assumption may be untrue. This study compared the prevalence and correlates of substance use among Black, White, and biracial Black-White youth. Data were derived from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent and Adult Health, which is a longitudinal investigation using stratified random sampling to study health behaviors. After controlling for sociodemographic factors and using weighted Poisson and logistic regression, the authors found the substance-use prevalence rates of Black-White youth to be intermediate to the higher rates of Whites and lower rates of Blacks. In addition, Black-White youth's scores on most covariates were intermediate to those of the monoracial groups. Family factors were more important in explaining higher substance use than other contextual factors. School factors seem to be important in explaining lower substance use for Black-White youth. Correlates of substance use for Black-White youth were not identical to those of either Black or White youth. More research on the observed intermediate phenomena among biracial youth vis-à-vis prevalence, correlates, and causes of substance use is needed. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
authors.forename: Trenette Clark
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Goings
authors.affiliation: Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Butler-Bente
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
authors.forename: Tricia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: McGovern
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
authors.forename: Matthew O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Howard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000208:ethnology; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology*; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*