Alcohol and Cannabis Use Trajectories and Outcomes in a Sample of Hispanic, White, and Asian Sexual and Gender Minority Emerging Adults.

Michael S Dunbar,Joan S Tucker,Jordan P Davis,Rachana Seelam,Daniel Siconolfi,Elizabeth J D’Amico,Anthony Rodriguez

doi:10.3390/ijerph19042059

Michael S Dunbar, Joan S Tucker + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042059

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Abstract

Substance use disproportionately affects health and psychosocial outcomes for some racial/ethnic groups, but few longitudinal studies examine the extent to which sexual and gender minority (SGM) emerging adults of different racial/ethnic groups may experience disparities in outcomes at similar levels of alcohol or cannabis use. This study used five waves of annual survey data (spanning 2015 (average age 18) to 2020 (average age 23)) from an ongoing longitudinal cohort study of emerging adults. In the subset of 359 SGM emerging adults, separate sequelae of change models assessed differences in trajectories of alcohol or cannabis use (past 30-day frequency) and multiple health and psychosocial outcomes across Hispanic, Asian, and White individuals. White SGM emerging adults showed higher baseline levels of alcohol and cannabis frequency compared to Hispanic and Asian peers, but all groups showed similar rates of change (slope) over time. We observed few racial/ethnic differences in SGM emerging adult outcomes at the same levels of alcohol or cannabis use; that is, racial/ethnic groups showed similar patterns on most health and psychosocial outcomes; however, some differences emerged. For example, Asian respondents reported less engagement in sex with casual partners after using alcohol, marijuana, or other drugs compared to their White peers, at the same levels of alcohol use (β = −0.579, p = 0.03) or cannabis use (β = −0.737, p = 0.007). Findings underscore a need to consider multiple outcome domains and factors beyond additive stress in examining the effects of substance use across different groups of SGM individuals. More longitudinal studies with large, contemporary, and diverse samples of SGM emerging adults are needed to better characterize similarities and differences in patterns of substance use and use-related consequences in relation to intersecting SGM, racial/ethnic, and other identities.

Highlights

The current study aims to address several gaps in the existing literature on racial/ethnic differences in longitudinal patterns of alcohol and cannabis use during the period of youth to emerging adulthood and health and psychosocial outcomes among sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals
Using longitudinal data from a contemporary cohort of SGM emerging adults, we examined trajectories of alcohol and cannabis use spanning the period of youth to emerging adulthood, stratified by race/ethnicity
Individuals; racial/ethnic groups were similar with respect to change in frequency of alcohol or cannabis use over time, which suggests that observed differences in baseline frequency of use may persist through emerging adulthood

Summary

Introduction

Research over the past several decades has identified mental health and substance use disparities among sexual and gender minority (SGM; e.g., gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) youth, adolescents, and emerging adults. These disparities are attributed to minority stressors experienced by SGM populations, including marginalization, discrimination, and victimization [1–5]. Much of the disparities-focused epidemiologic and theoretical research on SGM substance use has drawn from limited, specific subpopulations under the SGM umbrella (e.g., cisgender men who have sex with men) or has aggregated all SGM persons into a single group for comparisons with non-SGM peers.

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