Perceived discrimination enhances the association between distress and impact related to the murder of George Floyd and unhealthy alcohol use in a survey sample of U.S. Veterans who report drinking

Monique T Cano; Jill V Reavis; David L Pennington

doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2023.100481

Perceived discrimination enhances the association between distress and impact related to the murder of George Floyd and unhealthy alcohol use in a survey sample of U.S. Veterans who report drinking

Addict Behav Rep. 2023 Jan 16:17:100481. doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2023.100481. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Monique T Cano^{1

2}, Jill V Reavis^{1

2

3}, David L Pennington^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States.
² San Francisco VA Health Care System, San Francisco, CA 94121, United States.
³ Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, United States.
⁴ Northern California Institute for Research and Education (NCIRE), San Francisco, CA 94121, United States.

Abstract

Introduction: On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer leading to increased social justice and antiracism movements (SJARM) across the United States. Vicarious exposure to racism and perceived discrimination are salient sources of distress which may lead to increased alcohol use as means of coping. The primary aim of the current study was to examine how perceived discrimination and the subjective impact and personal distress related to the SJARM following the George Floyd murder interact and relate to unhealthy alcohol use among U.S. Veterans.

Methods: 286 Veterans were assessed for unhealthy alcohol use (AUDIT-10), perceived discrimination (EDS), and subjective impact and personal distress related to the SJARM. Two moderation analyses were performed to examine whether subjective impact and personal distress moderated relations between perceived discrimination and alcohol use. In-depth follow-up analyses were conducted to examine differences and relationships among variables.

Results: In two different moderation models, perceived discrimination moderated the association between both subjective impact (p <.001) and personal distress (p <.001) felt by the SJARM and unhealthy alcohol use. In planned exploratory analyses, Veterans who reported perceived discrimination reported higher levels of unhealthy alcohol use (M = 14.71, SD = 9.39) than those who did not t(2 8 4) = 5.61, p <.001. In post-hoc analyses, racial/ethnic minorities were significantly more likely to report perceived racial discrimination (p <.001) while non-Hispanic Whites were more likely to report perceived discrimination based on education or income level (p <.01).

Conclusions: In the context of a socially unjust event amidst a global pandemic, perceived discrimination contributes to unhealthy alcohol use and subjective impact and personal distress associated with the SJARM following the murder of George Floyd. Results highlight the importance of addressing discrimination experiences in Veterans who seek alcohol treatment, particularly as rates of unhealthy alcohol use are on the rise.

Keywords: Alcohol use; Perceived discrimination; Social justice; Veterans; Vicarious racism.

Abstract

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