Alcohol and Native Language : Alcohol Use as a Coping Strategy for Intersectional Microaggressions Among Sexual and Gender Minoritized Latine Youth

Intersectional microaggressions – daily slights toward individuals with multiple minoritized identities – pose significant stress for sexual and gender minoritized (SGM) Latine youth. Although research on these experiences has expanded, gaps remain regarding how they influence substance use and mental health across ethnic and linguistic lines. This study examined the relationship between intersectional microaggressions, psychological distress, and alcohol use as a coping strategy among a nationally diverse sample of SGM Latine youth (N = 3119). Participants completed surveys assessing experiences of microaggressions, mental health symptoms, and alcohol use. Mediation analyses revealed that intersectional microaggressions (predictor) were associated with higher psychological distress (mediator; B = .23, p < .001), which in turn were associated with higher alcohol use as a coping mechanism (outcome; B = .07, p < .001). Psychological distress partially mediated the association between microaggressions and alcohol use (direct effect B = .03, p < .001). A moderated mediation analysis, in which native language (Spanish or English) was tested as a moderator, showed greater indirect effects for native Spanish speakers than for native English speakers across both indirect paths in the mediation model. Findings underscore the compounded impact of intersectional discrimination on substance use and mental health in SGM Latine youth, with important implications for culturally and linguistically informed interventions targeting minoritized populations.