Traditional Risk And Cultural Protection: Correlates Of Alcohol And Cannabis Co-Use Among African-American Adolescents

Objective: Previous work indicates that African-American adolescents are at high risk for concurrent alcohol and cannabis use. The present study examines the associations of traditional ecological predictors of substance use with concurrent alcohol and cannabis use among African-American adolescents. It also examines whether racial identity, a culturally relevant factor, is associated with concurrent use beyond the influence of traditional factors. Method: Secondary analyses were conducted based on a large survey of high school adolescents. Responses on self-report measures of substance use and psychosocial determinants of health were examined for those respondents in grades 9–12 who identified as African American (N = 465; 59.8% female). Results: Findings demonstrated that traditional risk and resilience factors, including externalizing symptoms and substance use beliefs, were related to alcohol and cannabis co-use relative to other patterns of use among African-American adolescents. Racial identity dimensions were also associated with alcohol and cannabis co-use beyond the influence of traditional factors. However, the direction of these associations varied by dimension. Conclusions: Findings from the present study assist in advancing the current knowledge base by identifying potential risk and protective factors for alcohol and cannabis co-use among African-American youth, who face increasing rates of this substance use pattern.