Introduction
With a recent rise in anti-asian sentiment and racism following the COVID-19 pandemic, one in five Asian American individuals has reported at least one hate incident in the past year. This increased hate is also prevalent towards sexual and gender diverse students, with both individual hate crimes and state legislatures attacking them. Asian American and sexual or gender diverse students have been shown to be more susceptible to bullying, oppression, or stress than others.
This has been shown to lead to alcohol abuse. Several sources have suggested that high oppression in youth, especially in the Asian American or sexual/gender diverse communities, can lead to episodic drinking. Coping motives have been found to be a mechanism for stress relief and can lead to outcomes of alcohol usage. Despite Asian American youth having lower rates of alcohol use compared to the general youth, mainly due to cultural pressures, studies have shown severe consequences for the few who choose to disobey. Plenty of protective factors, such as teacher or parental care, have been shown to have an impact on not only the chance of alcohol usage, but the chances of further consequences such as delinquency or substance use.
It is important to note the broadness of the Asian American community, as within the term, there are multiple cultures, each well established and unique. This is reflected in data, as Korean and Filipino American adolescents report the highest prevalence of alcohol use, whilst Chinese and Indian American adolescents report the lowest. More data analysis is necessary in order to understand the alcohol usage of Asian American adolescents in turn with the experiences of bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI).
Methods
The data comes from a modular, statewide school survey administered every two years. The intention is to better understand the current school climate and risks. Passive parental consent, so that parents could choose to opt out of the survey, was used. A majority of schools focused on the recommended grades of 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th. 2% of all the studies were removed due to a high indication of dishonesty.
This specific study sample included only students who self-reported their racial identity as asian, whether mixed or fully. In all, 1,544 total participants indicated they were asian. For sexual orientation, students were asked to select which of the following best represented them: "straight", "gay or lesbian", "bisexual", or "I am not sure yet". Assigned sex at birth was also asked, as well as if the participant considered themselves to be transgender. Any of the students who chose to decline to respond were not included in the study sample.
A further question that was included assessed various types of bias-based bullying, asking students if they were bullied based on race, gender, or other statuses. Teacher caring was also measured in a similar-style question. Lifetime alcohol use was measured with an item asking how many times the student had a full drink of alcohol during their life.
It is important to note the limitations of this study. Firstly, in terms of broader implications, those are hard to make considering this study was focused on a small minority of the population. Despite anonymity, there is always a chance of underreporting alcohol usage, especially considering the legality of it. The vulnerable groups who may drop out of high school and youth who experience bullying are also underrepresented. Other factors, such as school or family environment, economic status, and other outside influences, were also not considered.
Results
19.6% of Asian American students indicated alcohol use, compared to 28.4% of all students. This is consistent with prior studies showing a lower substance use rate among Asian American students. Age was shown to be the strongest determinant of lifetime alcohol use, from 13.1% in 9th grade to 31.8% in 12th grade. Most notably, this study found that experiencing race- or SOGI-based bullying was associated with higher rates of lifetime alcohol use among sexual and gender diverse youth as early as 9th grade. Bias-based bullying can be a suggested factor of early onset alcohol use. This is key, as this use can lead to developing alcohol use disorder.
Those who showed the highest prevalence of lifetime alcohol use generally reported experiencing either SOGI-based, race-based, or both types of bullying, and vice versa. It is important to note that identity-based bullying often emerges as a significant variable even when the actual identity itself is not significant in context. This shows that bias-based bullying itself, rather than an exact bias, is a more consistent predictor of lifetime alcohol use. Feelings of social exclusion and bullying can drive Asian American or SOGI youth to resort to alcohol in times of guilt, depression, or anxiety as a way to escape.
There was no real difference noted between the race and SOGI status of those who experienced bullying, further reinforcing that the bias itself, but rather the fact that bullying occurred, was more important. Another thing to note is the exoticization and objectification that could stem from this, with Asian American youth facing this from monoracial people. All asian ethnicities were shown to have both high and low prevalences, and the distinct ethnicities were not a big factor, despite prior studies contradicting this. One last thing to note is that teacher care is another important factor and could have bigger effects on certain subgroups, which might not have been adequately represented by the sample in this study.
Conclusion
Bias-based bullying is critical to influencing alcohol use in Asian American youth. In addition to SOGI- or race-based bullying, groups with a high prevalence of lifetime alcohol use could be bisexual or multiracial. Marginalization of these communities often causes alcohol to be used as a crutch. With this, implementation of support systems for those in need should be used to protect everyone from the dangers of alcohol abuse.
