School Racial Composition as a Moderator of the Effect of Discrimination on Mental Health and Substance use Among American Indian Adolescents

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the relationships between individual-level perceived racial/ethnic discrimination and mental health and substance use outcomes by school-level racial composition among American Indian (AI) adolescents.

Method: Self-reported survey data on individual-level variables come from a sample of AI adolescents (n = 510) living in or near the Cherokee Nation during the fall of 2021. School-level data come from publicly available databases. Multilevel linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to test for and examine the interaction between perceived racial/ethnic discrimination and school racial composition in relation to symptoms of anxiety and depression, past 30-day use of alcohol and marijuana, and misuse of prescription opioids.

Results: Adjusted analyses showed a significant interaction effect between discrimination and racial composition on anxiety symptoms, such that the effect of discrimination was more pronounced at lower % AI (10th percentile) than at more equivalently mixed (50th percentile) or higher % AI (90th percentile) school settings. No significant interactions were observed with depressive symptoms or substance use outcomes.

Discussion: School racial compositions of higher percentage AI may buffer the adverse effect of racial/ethnic discrimination on anxiety symptoms among AI adolescents.

Keywords: Adolescence; American Indian; Mental health; Racial discrimination; Substance use.