Intersectional minority stress is associated with greater odds of recent and heavy alcohol and recent cannabis use, but not tobacco use among sexual and gender minority (SGM) adolescents.
This is according to a study – “Intersectional Minority Stress and Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents of Color: Moderating Role of Family Support” by Ethan H. Mereish, Jessica N. Fish, and Ryan J. Watson – that appeared in LGBT Health.
The researchers wanted to examine the associations between intersectional minority stress and substance use among SGM adolescents, and the moderating role of family support on these associations. For this, they used tapped 3,423 SGM adolescents of color in the US, and then assessed their experiences related to intersectional minority stress with the LGBT People of Color Microaggressions Scale.
Among the findings included:
- Intersectional minority stress was associated with greater odds of recent and heavy alcohol and recent cannabis use, but not tobacco use.
- When examining specific domains of intersectional minority stress, racism from SGM communities was associated with greater odds of recent and heavy alcohol, and recent cannabis use, whereas heterosexism from same racial/ethnic communities was associated with greater odds of recent cigarette and cigar use.
- Family support was associated with lower substance use. Family support was not a significant moderator.
According to the researchers, the findings “underscore the need to examine intersectional stressors that SGM adolescents… experience” while also bolstering family supports to prevent substance use.
Other strategies, such as other forms of family support (e.g. identity-specific support) and community-level and structural changes that target reducing and dismantling oppression can also be tapped “to reduce the deleterious impact of intersectional minority stress.”
