Psychology Commons^™

A Longitudinal Examination Of Multiple Forms Of Stigma On Minority Stress, Belongingness, And Problematic Alcohol Use, Akanksha Das, Rose Marie Ward, Lauren Haus, Jackson Heitt, Jeffrey Hunger

Health Behavior Research

College students who experience stigma report problematic alcohol use. However, the stigma-health link focuses on one form of stigma, thereby excluding the intersectional oppression of experiencing multiple forms of stigma. The present work has two primary aims: 1) evaluating whether additive intersectional minority stress confers greater problematic alcohol use among multiply-stigmatized college students one year later, and 2) whether that link can be explained by 1) lower belongingness and 2) greater drinking to cope motives. Students (N=427) ranging in stigmatized identities (14.3% zero; 46.4% one; 29.5% two; 9.8% three or more), participated in an annual health survey at two subsequent …