Race, Coping Style, and Substance Use Disorder among South Florida Young Adults

• In Event: Substance Abuse: Race/Ethnicity, Mental Health, and Legal Issues

Abstract

Despite their higher rates of stress exposure, African American young adults tend toward similar or lower rates of substance misuse than their White non-Hispanic counterparts. Arguably, such patterns derive from racial variations in the availability of coping strategies that mitigate stress; and/or racial differences in the efficacy of available coping styles.Using interview data from a stratified sample of South Florida young adults (N = 887), we employed logistic regression analyses to examine race differences in coping style types and to test whether race by coping style interactions influenced the odds of qualifying for a DSM-IV substance use disorder, net of stressful life events and relevant sociodemographic controls. We found that African American young adults displayed lower problem-focused coping, and higher avoidance-oriented coping, than did White young adults. For White respondents, problem-focused coping was related to lower odds, and avoidance-oriented coping to higher odds, of substance use disorder. For African American respondents, however, the opposite pattern emerged: problem-focused coping was related to higher odds, and avoidance-oriented coping to lower odds, of substance use disorder. Implications are discussed.

Authors

• Amanda Howerton-Orcutt, Salem State University

• Karen T. van Gundy, University of New Hampshire