Racism linked to drinking problems in Asian American students, new study shows
Racial discrimination may be causing alcohol-related problems among Asian American college students, according to a new research published in the Asian American Journal of Psychology.
The study, which was conducted before the pandemic, surveyed more than 1,400 U.S.-born Asian students at a large Southern California public university with a predominantly Asian student body, and found that a majority of the participants reported experiencing racism and drinking to cope with their elevated levels of psychological distress. (The university was not named in the study.)
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The new study uses what is known as the everyday racial discrimination metric to measure students’ experience with racial discrimination (“being treated with less courtesy than others; receiving poorer service than others in restaurants or stores; people acting as if you are not smart”), and the Kessler psychological distress scale to assess the anxiety and depressive symptoms such treatment occasions. The Rutgers alcohol problems index is used to measure alcohol-related problems.
Among the study’s subjects, Iwamoto and his team found, racism has a strong effect on drinking. All students surveyed reported experiencing one incident of racism, and nearly two-thirds reported experiencing at least two. Many reported drinking to cope with the psychological distress caused by these negative experiences. (The sample pool was diverse, representing nine ethnicities and a variety of majors including the physical sciences, psychology, the humanities, education and engineering. Three in four participants are women.)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/racism-linked-to-drinking-problems-in-asian-american-students-new-study-shows/ar-AAUCDjU
= new reply since forum marked as read
... I think racism would likely contribute to alcohol abuse in all discriminated groups. It's a universal "pain easer." Probably, that's the worst reason to drink alcohol.
... I'm surprised at the part saying, "...people acting as if you are not smart." I've seen people treat Asian-Americans as if they were "too smart" - in an uncomplimentary way. Students feel pressure to always preform to expectations... maybe this also contributes.
