# Long-term and Daily Associations among Intersectional Minority Stress, Structural Oppression, and Alcohol Use and Misuse among Sexual Minority Adolescents of Color

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK · 2024 · $729,606

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Disparities in alcohol and other substance (AOD) use and misuse are well documented between sexual
minority adolescents (SMA) and their heterosexual peers. SMA of color also have higher rates of AOD use and
misuse than heterosexual peers of the same race/ethnicity and to some extent their White SMA peers. Daily
stigma and discrimination-related stressors specific to their marginalized identities (i.e., minority stressors,
racism-based stressors) contribute to health disparities among SMA of color. These stressors occur at the
interpersonal level (e.g., discrimination) and are reinforced at the structural level (e.g., anti-gay laws, or racist
institutional policies). Minority stress at a single axis of identity is directly correlated with AOD use and misuse
among sexual and racial/ethnic minority populations. Similarly, structural oppression (i.e., structural
heterosexism or racism) during adolescence has long-lasting health effects, including AOD use and misuse.
However, this work rarely takes an intersectional lens that considers both sexual orientation and race/ethnicity.
Although mounting cross-sectional and recent but limited longitudinal evidence implicates minority stress as a
key contributor to disparities in AOD use and misuse, the prospective, daily, and chronic impact of these
stressors on SMA of color's AOD use and misuse across adolescence is largely unknown. There is also a lack
of research examining the impact of structural oppression on SMA of color's AOD use, how it may play a key
etiological role in accelerating the progression of AOD use and misuse over adolescence, and how it may
impact the long-term and daily associations between intersectional minority stress and AOD use and misuse in
SMA of color's daily lives. In addition, little is known about protective factors between minority stress and AOD
use and misuse, which is needed to inform prevention and treatment interventions. Relying on our
investigator's team methodological, theoretical, analytic, and clinical expertise and pilot work, we propose a
rigorous and innovative study of intersectional stress and structural oppression and how they relate to AOD
use and misuse among SMA of color. Using a measurement-burst design, a combination of longitudinal and
daily diary methods, our aims are to: 1) test the prospective associations between intersectional stress and
structural oppression and AOD use and misuse among a national sample of SMA of color over 2.5 years
(N=950) with 6-month time-points; 2) test the daily associations between within-person fluctuations of
intersectional stress and AOD craving, use, misuse, and problems among the sample over 10-days at each 6-
month time point; 3) test protective and risk factors that attenuate or exacerbate the associations between
intersectional stress and AOD use and misuse over adolescence across the 2.5 years and in daily life. The
results will allow for more precise understanding of minority stress, struc...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10837780
- **Project number:** 5R01AA029989-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
- **Principal Investigator:** Ethan H Mereish
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $729,606
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-05-10 → 2027-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10837780

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10837780, Long-term and Daily Associations among Intersectional Minority Stress, Structural Oppression, and Alcohol Use and Misuse among Sexual Minority Adolescents of Color (5R01AA029989-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10837780. Licensed CC0.

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