Primary Submission Category: LGBTQ+
Binge Drinking in Adolescence: Understanding Inequities at the Intersections of Sexual Identity, Race/ethnicity, and Grade among a Statewide Sample of Californian Students
Authors: Meg Bishop Rodman Turpin Stephen Russell Jessica Fish
Presenting Author: Meg Bishop*
Binge drinking (BD) inequities between sexual minority (SM) and heterosexual youth are well-established. Yet, data limitations preclude understandings of whether and how SM-related BD inequities vary among youth at the intersections of additional health-relevant social identities and developmental contexts such as race/ethnicity and grade—knowledge critical for prevention and intervention. In the current study, we estimated grade differences in BD by sexual identity and race/ethnicity among a statewide sample of Californian students.
Data are from the California Healthy Kids Survey (2017-2019), the largest statewide serial survey of secondary school students in the US (n=909,571). The BD item read, “During the past 30 days, on how many days did you use five or more drinks of alcohol in a row, that is, within a couple hours?” Responses were recoded as 0 days (no BD) and 1+ days (any BD). Independent variables were sexual identity (straight, lesbian/gay, bisexual, unsure, something else), grade (6th-8th, 9th-10th, 11th-12th), and race/ethnicity (Asian/American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, Latinx, White, Mixed). Covariates were parental education, transgender identity, and survey year. Multivariable logistic regression models estimated the prevalence of BD using three-way interactions between grade, sexual identity, and race/ethnicity. Predicted probabilities estimated adjusted percentages of youth’s BD by subgroup.
In 6th-8th grades, SM youth showed elevated rates of BD across all racial/ethnic groups relative to straight youth. In later grades, patterns of BD varied by subgroups defined by sexual identity and race/ethnicity. For example, among Black youth, gay/lesbian youth reported the highest rates of BD in both 9th-10th and 11th-12th grades. In contrast, among White youth, bisexual youth reported higher rates of BD in 9th-10th grades than straight youth, but showed no differences by 11th-12th grades. Our findings have implications for future research and practice.