College Affirmative Action Bans and Smoking and Alcohol Use Among Underrepresented Minority Adolescents: A Difference-in-Differences Study
OFH Contributors
Key Takeaways
State-level college affirmative action bans are associated with increases in cigarette smoking among underrepresented minority high school students. There is some evidence of increased alcohol use and binge drinking, as well.
Smoking effects persist up to age 30.
There were no comparable effects of college affirmative action bans among non-Hispanic White adolescents.
Social policies that alter real or perceived economic opportunity can have meaningful downstream effects on health behavior and population health.
Executive Summary
Introduction
Established during the Civil Rights Era, affirmative action policies aim to expand access to higher education for underrepresented minority groups, thereby boosting economic opportunity in groups that have long faced barriers to upward mobility. Prior to the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which effectively ended these programs nationwide, nine states implemented bans on race-based affirmative action in college admissions over the period1996 and 2013. Prior research has shown these bans reduce college enrollment and graduation among underrepresented minorities, but their potential spillover effects on health behaviors had not been well studied. Given strong links between economic opportunity, expectations about the future, and health behaviors, this study investigates whether affirmative action bans influence smoking and alcohol use among adolescents.
Main Findings
Using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (1991–2015), the study finds that underrepresented minority 11th and 12th graders exposed to affirmative action bans were 20% more likely to report smoking in the month prior to survey. There were also increases in alcohol use and binge drinking in this group, though these estimates did not remain statistically significant after correcting for multiple comparisons. Analyses using the Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey show that underrepresented minority adults aged 19–30 who were exposed to bans during late high school were more likely to report current smoking, indicating persistence of effects over time. Increases in health risk behavior occurred the same year as the state-level ban was put in place. No similar effects were found among non-Hispanic White adolescents.
Conclusion
College affirmative action programs have important implications for health and well-being, particularly because they shape real and perceived economic opportunities. These findings suggest that social and education policies that constrain socioeconomic opportunity may unintentionally worsen health outcomes. Policymakers should consider these broader population health implications when evaluating affirmative action policies and similar structural interventions.