Accumulating disadvantage: Mechanisms linking discrimination histories and adolescent health

Research has documented the pervasive impact of discrimination on adolescents' mental health, but its impact on physical health at this time in the life course is less understood. The present study fills this gap by investigating how accumulating experiences of peer-perpetrated discrimination across adolescence impact general health and whether unhealthy behaviors (i.e., substance use, poor sleep, lack of exercise) serve as an explanatory mediating pathway. In this study, we used longitudinal data from a racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse community sample in the Southern United States (45% White, 30% Latina/o/x, 8% Asian, 5% Black, and 13% biracial, multiracial, or another race/ethnicity; 58% female; 34% economically disadvantaged), following young people as they moved through adolescence and into young adulthood. We observed that experiences of peer-perpetrated discrimination tied to multiple social identities accumulated across time. Complementary person-centered analyses suggested that the majority of youth in our sample experienced low levels of peer-perpetrated discrimination with attenuated declines across time, with smaller proportions reporting either high and stable or moderate but increasing discrimination across time. Greater cumulative discrimination, as well as trajectory profiles characterized by high or increasing peer-perpetrated discrimination, were linked to poorer self-rated health, and sleep served as a central mechanism by which accumulating discrimination exacted its toll. Findings highlight that persistent or growing exposure to peer-perpetrated discrimination may set the stage for longer term health consequences, and, as such, adolescence represents a critical window for intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).