Date of Award
5-1-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.C.J. in Criminal Justice
First Advisor
D'Andre Walker
Second Advisor
Katharine Brown
Third Advisor
Francis Boateng
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between perceived racial/ethnic discrimination, psychological distress, and youth marijuana consumption through the lens of the General Strain Theory. It uses the complete-case sample from the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which surveyed 17,268 high school students across the United States, in a cross-sectional study. The study used logistic regression analyses to assess the association between perceived racial or ethnic bias (e.g., actual discriminatory experiences), psychological distress, and substance use (marijuana), and how closely emotional stress linked these two phenomena. The results indicate that perceived discrimination has a significant positive association (greater likelihood) with both psychological distress and marijuana use. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that the effect of discrimination on male youth is greater than that on female youth regarding their use of marijuana. Conversely, psychological distress has a greater effect on female youth than on male youth. The study results support GST because they show that discrimination functions as an institutional strain that leads to negative emotional states and unhealthy coping mechanisms. The findings show that both discriminatory experiences and adolescent psychological distress should be studied to understand substance use, despite the limitations in establishing causal relationships.
Recommended Citation
Khan, Fahad Bin Islam, "Institutional Strain and Substance Coping: Analyzing Perceived Racial Discrimination as A Predictor of Adolescent Marijuana Use" (2026). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 8839.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/8839