Abstract
Literature highlights the relationship between perceived discrimination and frequency and severity of alcohol and cannabis use. One mechanism for explaining this is the nature of perceived discrimination as a potentially traumatic interpersonal stressor, which can lead to the depletion of social and personal resources. Within a Recovery Capital (RC) framework, the current study explores whether the existence of social capital in the form of parental monitoring, friend and teacher support can buffer the relationship between perceived discrimination and alcohol and cannabis use among immigrant and non-immigrant adolescents, by replenishing the depleted resources. The study included a representative sample of 8,598 students in Israel, aged 11–18, from the Health Behaviors of School Aged Children (HBSC) 2013–2014 data: 1503 immigrant adolescents from the Former Soviet Union [FSU] (N = 955) and Ethiopia (N = 548) and 7086 non-immigrants. Results confirmed that perceived discrimination was positively related to substance use; all three forms of social capital were negatively related to alcohol and cannabis use and moderated the relationship between perceived discrimination and substance use, with the exception of friend support in the case of alcohol use. When all three social capital measures were included together, the adult social capital measures were significant predictors of substance use. Results suggest that levels of social capital, especially as provided by parents and teachers, can help young people, both immigrant and majority group adolescents, to cope with perceived discrimination.
Highlights
Alcohol use in adolescence is a matter of public health concern due to its interrelation to additional risk behaviors, the tendency for alcohol use to persist into adulthood and the impact it can have on the adolescent brain and health in general (Marshall, 2014)
In line with a recovery capital framework, and confirming H3, we found that parental monitoring had a moderating effect on the relationships between perceived discrimination and both alcohol and cannabis use
The current study examined whether three elements of social capital moderate the association between perceived discrimination and substance use (Lorenzo-Blanco et al, 2017; Walsh et al, 2018) among immigrant and non-immigrant adolescents in Israel
Summary
Alcohol use in adolescence is a matter of public health concern due to its interrelation to additional risk behaviors, the tendency for alcohol use to persist into adulthood and the impact it can have on the adolescent brain and health in general (Marshall, 2014). Public health concerns over adolescent cannabis or marijuana use (Hopfer, 2014) have focused on its relationship with many diverse outcomes such as impaired cognitive function (Tapert et al, 2008), an impact on current functioning, such as school attainment (Lynskey and Hall, 2000) and its impact on later life outcomes (Fergusson and Boden, 2008) such as unemployment, welfare dependence and relationship satisfaction. Despite the relationship between perceived discrimination and substance use, literature to date has not examined potential resources which could buffer or moderate the impact of perceived discrimination on young people. The current study uses a framework of recovery capital to examine social relationships (social capital) as moderating the relationship between perceived discrimination and alcohol and cannabis use among a large representative sample of immigrant and non-immigrant adolescents in Israel
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