This study examines longitudinal and geographic trends in perceived racial discrimination among U.S. adolescents using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. A diverse sample of 11,868 children aged 9-10 at baseline from 22 sites across the U.S. was analyzed, assessing perceived discrimination at ages 10-11, 11-12, and 13-14 using items adapted from the Perceived Discrimination Scale. Binomial logistic regression models were used to evaluate longitudinal trends and geographic variation, adjusting for demographic factors such as race/ethnicity, parental education, and income. Results show that perceived racial discrimination increased significantly from ages 10-11 to 13-14, particularly among Black and Asian adolescents. By age 13-14, nearly half of Black adolescents and over a quarter of Asian adolescents reported discrimination. Geographic analysis revealed that Black adolescents in the Western U.S. and predominantly White affluent neighborhoods had the highest odds of perceived discrimination. Higher state-level anti-Black bias was associated with lower discrimination rates among Black adolescents but higher rates for Asian adolescents. These findings highlight the evolving nature of racial discrimination during adolescence and underscore the need for targeted interventions that address racism’s mental health impacts on adolescents, particularly in high-risk geographic and socio-economic contexts.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and additional federal partners under awards U01DA041022, U01DA041025, U01DA041028, U01DA041048, U01DA041089, U01DA041093, U01DA041106, U01DA041117, U01DA041120, U01DA041134, U01DA041148, U01DA041156, U01DA041174, U24DA041123, and U24DA041147. The ABCD federal partners are the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, NIH Office of Behavior and Social Sciences Research, NIH Office of Research on Women's Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Violence Prevention, National Institute of Justice, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Adolescent and School Health, National Science Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts. This work was additionally supported by grant support to the authors: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) grant F32MH129052 to CTF, National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant 5R03CA252808 to XZ, NIMH grant R01MH135492 to JN, and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) grant U01DA041174 to DGG. SA is partially supported by funds provided by The Regents of the University of California, Tobacco Related Diseases Research Program, Grant Number No. T32IR5355. The funding organizations had no role in the analysis and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication. This manuscript reflects the views of the authors and may not reflect the opinions or views of the NIH or ABCD consortium investigators.

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

The source data used in this study were openly available prior to its initiation. The ABCD data used in this report came from the fast track data release 5.1, which is accessible to qualified researchers through the NIMH Data Archive (NDA). The raw data are available at https://nda.nih.gov/study.html?id=2313, and the data dictionary for ABCD can be found at https://data-dict.abcdstudy.org/. Additional details about the measures assessed for the ABCD study are provided at https://wiki.abcdstudy.org/release-notes/start-page.html. Instructions for obtaining NDA data use certification are available at https://nda.nih.gov/nda/access-data-info.

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