Building on the paradoxical findings of greater exposure to trauma but lower prevalence of alcohol use in Black vs. White youth, we assessed for racial differences in the association between childhood trauma and alcohol use initiation in Black and White girls, considering socioeconomic and neighborhood factors that vary by race and are linked to both trauma exposure and alcohol use. Consistent with the existing literature, prevalence of both childhood interpersonal trauma and more broadly defined childhood trauma were higher in Black than White girls [10,11] and alcohol use initiation was less prevalent [3–6], with slightly older age at onset in Black girls [7–9]. Associations between childhood trauma (under both definitions) and alcohol use were observed, as expected [1,2]. However, we did not find evidence that the magnitude of association differed by race; interactions between race and childhood trauma were non-significant. We hypothesized a lower degree of association between childhood trauma and alcohol use in Black vs. White girls as the most straightforward explanation for the counterintuitive elevated rate of trauma exposure but lower likelihood of alcohol use initiation in Black
