Perceived racism-based police violence and substance use among black and hispanic emerging adults: Evidence from a national sample.

Purpose: Racism-based police violence (RPV) is an emerging public health concern. However, limited research has examined the relationship between RPV exposure and substance use, particularly among Black or African American and Hispanic emerging adults aged 18-29 years. This study assessed associations between lifetime RPV exposure across three domains (direct victimization, witnessing in person, and media-based exposure) and past 30-day and 12-month alcohol and cannabis use in this population. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from August to October 2023 using a national nonprobability internet sample recruited via Qualtrics. The analytic sample included 936 Black or African American (48 %) and Hispanic (52 %) emerging adults. Negative binomial and logistic regression models were used to examine associations. Results: Higher levels of RPV exposure were significantly associated with increased alcohol and cannabis use. RPV-Victim exposure was the strongest predictor of alcohol use, including past 30-day (IRR = 1.02, 95 % CI: 1.00-1.05) and 12-month (OR = 1.04, 95 % CI: 1.01-1.07) use. RPV-Witness exposure was most strongly associated with cannabis use, including past 30-day (IRR = 1.02, 95 % CI: 1.00-1.03) and 12-month (OR = 1.03, 95 % CI: 1.01-1.06) use. A dose-response pattern was observed across increasing levels of RPV exposure. Conclusions: RPV exposure is a significant correlate of alcohol and cannabis use among Black or African American and Hispanic emerging adults. Findings suggest that perceived racialized policing is a significant risk factor for substance use and warrants further investigation as a potential structural determinant, highlighting it as an important target for public health interventions.