Arthur Owora, PhD, MPH, explains how social constructs and discrimination affect substance use.
Transcript:
Psychosocial stressors are often going to be associated with increased substance use. Because each time folks get stressed, you look out for different ways of how to cope. Some people go to exercise, some go to eating and some use substances.
This study gives us a unique and timely picture of what’s happening within young adults between 2019 and 2021. So a lot was going on from an economic perspective with COVID-19 and the economic downturn. One of the things that is really interesting here is we are capturing the effect of stressors in a dynamic environment. We are realizing that this dynamic environment affects different young adults differently based on race.
And I think one of the important things that is unique about this study is discrimination, in and by itself as a construct, is often ignored as part of the piece of the puzzle, where often what happens is we look at depression and anxiety separate from some of these social constructs that actually have a higher impact or modify to a large extent — and here modification really means they probably increase — the level of stress that then leads people to act in less desirable, less healthy ways as they try to cope with stress.
Dr. Owora mentions the role of context in coping with psychosocial stressors.
Transcript:
If you think about college students and how they deal with substance use, with alcohol or cannabis, there is often a different dynamic, where there’s a need to fit within peer groups. And so, if someone is discriminated against, and they have to join a peer group that already is involved in some substance use, we can see the situation as a function of being in college.
There is an affinity toward ascribing to behaviors of a dominant group in order to fit in. Whereas if you look at young adults who may not go to college, who are now looking for jobs where if you are discriminated against, then they are going to try and adapt towards more accepted behaviors.
And so, where you’re discriminated against and try to fit in or aspire to fit within a general population where substance use is looked down upon, then you’re going to need to adopt a different practice of addressing coping.
And I think that’s really an interesting context to think about as we look at this data and the results that we are sharing. Context really plays a big role in terms of how both coping mechanisms are potentially associated with some of the psychosocial stressors.
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