Rethinking black drinking

Revising and Improving the African American Acculturation Scale

The African American Acculturation Scale (AAAS) was revised and improved with a sample of 520 African American adults. Items that some participants in prior studies found objectionable were dropped, and a new version of the scale was created by factor analyzing the remaining items. The revised AAAS (AAAS-R) consists of 47 items that no participant has objected to; these comprise eight new, empirically derived subscales (i.e., factors) that have high reliability and validity and correlate r = .97 with the original 74-item version of the scale. It is strongly recommended that researchers interested in studying acculturation among African Americans use this new version of the scale.

Balancing environmental and genetic factors for alcoholism in the black community: implications for social work practice

This article discusses the importance and relevance of balancing environmental and genetic factors for understanding alcoholism in the Black community. Studies are reviewed and myths dispelled to highlight the need for addressing the historical complexities and current challenges of alcoholism for Blacks. Suggestions for practice, research, and policy at the genetic and environmental levels are offered.

Raced and Gendered Reactions to the Deviance of Drunkenness: A Sociological Analysis of Race and Gender Disparities in Alcohol Use

Research has consistently documented race and gender disparities in alcohol use. In this article, I refine the “time-out” hypothesis while arguing that these longstanding disparities in use are in part due to the impact of gender and race on deviance categorization. Public drinking behaviors operate within social spaces that may or may not be hospitable to a given person's gender and/or race status. I explore how formal and informal modes of social control influence alcohol use behavior. Findings are based on semistructured interviews with 78 American Black, White, male and female college students. Grounded theory was used in the development of three themes: (a) Acute awareness of women's otherness: multiple jeopardy and the multiple standard of alcohol use; (b) the gendered violence of women's marginalization; and (c) fear of violent victimization: alcohol and the dangerous Black male. Each theme illustrates how social inequalities structure alcohol use and reactions to alcohol use differently, depending on the intersections of race, gender, and situated contexts.

Social disadvantage, stress, and alcohol use among black, Hispanic, and white Americans: findings from the 2005 U.S. National Alcohol Survey

OBJECTIVE

Despite growing evidence of the adverse health effects of social disadvantage on minority populations, few studies have investigated whether such effects extend to alcohol problems. This study examines social disadvantage as a source of stress and analyzes its association with alcohol use and problems in the three largest racial/ethnic groups in the United States.

METHOD

Data on white, black, and Hispanic Americans (n = 6,631) were obtained from the 2005 U.S. National Alcohol Survey, a nationally representative telephone-based survey of adults ages 18 and older. Social disadvantage was measured by poverty level, frequency of unfair treatment, racial/ethnic stigma consciousness, and cumulative disadvantage. Outcomes included drinking status, at-risk drinking, and problem drinking.

RESULTS

Blacks and Hispanics reported greater exposure to social disadvantage than whites, including greater poverty, unfair treatment, racial/ethnic stigma, and cumulative disadvantage. In all three racial/ethnic groups, exposure to disadvantage was associated with problem drinking. Frequent unfair treatment, high racial stigma (among minorities), and multiple sources of extreme disadvantage corresponded to a twofold to sixfold greater risk of alcohol problems, partially explained by psychological distress.

CONCLUSIONS

These results are consistent with other studies of stress and adverse health consequences associated with social disadvantage. Although there is a clear disparity in exposure to such hardship, experiences of disadvantage appear to have similar effects on problem drinking among both racial/ethnic minorities and whites. Future research should attempt to assess causal directions in the relationships among social and economic hardship, stress, and alcohol problems.

Windows of opportunity: fundamental concepts for understanding alcohol-related disparities experienced by young Blacks in the United States

This paper presents a theoretical framework for conceptualizing alcohol-related disparities experienced by young Blacks in the United States. The framework highlights areas of risk and opportunity as they relate to the development of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. In this paper, life course development theory serves as a guide for identifying a critical period in the development of alcohol-related disparities and it serves to guide the identification of opportunities to prevent or attenuate this health outcome. We also highlight concepts from ecosocial theory, resilience theory, and prevention science that advance our understanding of risk and protective factors for the social problems that young Blacks experience related to alcohol use. We conclude with suggestions for designing studies that range from etiology to preventive interventions. We also recommend methodologies that allow for more nuanced understandings of the etiology and prevention of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems experienced by young Blacks than have been available to date.

Culture Change and Ethnic-Minority Health Behavior: An Operant Theory of Acculturation

Data on acculturation and ethnic-minority health indicate that acculturation has opposite effects on the same health behavior among different ethnic groups; opposite effects on different health behaviors within an ethnic group; opposite effects on the same health behavior for the women vs. the men of most ethnic groups; and no effect whatsoever on some health behaviors for some ethnic groups. This evidence is so incoherent that it is unintelligible, and hence it continues to be largely useless to health psychology and behavioral medicine. This paper presents a new theory of acculturation that renders these confusing data coherent by predicting such changes in minority health behavior a priori. By so doing, the operant model of acculturation has the potential to improve health promotion and disease prevention and thereby reduce ethnic health disparities.

The role of acculturation in the substance abuse behavior of African-American and Latino adolescents: advances, issues, and recommendations

This article provides a review of the literature on the acculturation of Latino and African-American adolescents to traditional European-American cultural values, and the effect on their substance abusing behaviors. The review includes a critical analysis of studies that examine the effects of acculturation on the mental health and well-being of Latino adolescents. Recent findings documenting the association between acculturation and substance abuse among Latino adolescents are discussed. The article also examines the dearth of research on the role of acculturation in the substance-abusing behaviors of African-American adolescents. The authors assert that understanding the effects of acculturation on these behaviors could begin to explain why African-American adolescent substance abuse rates have been historically lower than those of European-American and Latino adolescents. Also included is an examination of research on the role of acculturation in treatment outcomes of Latino and African-American adolescents.

DSM-IV alcohol dependence in a treatment sample of white, black, and Mexican-American men

This study examines the presentation, correlates, and factor structure of DSM-IV alcohol dependence among 256 White, 263 Black, and 212 Mexican-American men admitted consecutively to five alcohol treatment programs in San Jose, CA. Interviews of approximately 1 hr were conducted in the programs' facilities by trained interviewers using a standardized questionnaire. The response rate was 87%. Results show that the proportion of Black respondents who are alcohol-dependent according to the DSM-IV criteria is lower (63%) than the proportion of Whites (86%) and Mexican Americans (76%). However, the proportion of respondents reporting each criterion of dependence was similar across groups. The most powerful predictor of the number of dependence indicators reported by respondents was level of alcohol consumption, independent of ethnicity. A unidimensional model of dependence combining all seven indicators of DSM-IV alcohol dependence fit well across men in all three ethnic groups. These results indicate that both the presentation and factorial structure of DSM-IV alcohol dependence were uniform across White, Black and Mexican-American men in treatment for alcohol problems.

Approaches to ethnicity: clearing roadblocks in the study of ethnicity and substance use

This paper reviews a number of indicators of ethnicity commonly used in alcohol/drug use studies. These include the racial, natal, symbolic and cultural approaches to ethnicity. The utility and limitations of each of these approaches is scrutinized. Because ethnicity is a multidimensional concept, using only one dimension, as is the case in many alcohol/drug use studies, is inadequate. One of the major weaknesses of studies of ethnicity and substance use is the failure to recognize the presence of subcultural differences within an ethnic group. Implications of the present review for future research in ethnicity and substance use/misuse and for future development of culturally sensitive programs and services are discussed.

A comparison of problems-of-life for blacks and whites entering substance abuse treatment programs

Blacks in the general population experience alcohol-related health problems to a greater extent than Whites, even though surveys of drinking behavior find that Blacks generally drink no more than Whites and, in fact, at younger ages Blacks actually drink less than Whites. In this study, Blacks and Whites entering randomly selected state-supported substance abuse treatment programs within a given period of time were interviewed and administered a battery of assessment instruments; results are derived from the Addiction Severity Index. A major research question was whether the higher rates of alcohol-related problems for Blacks in the general population were matched by greater severity of life-problems for Blacks in a clinical treatment population. Blacks had more severe problems than Whites in two problem areas: employment support and other drug use. Results point to socioeconomic factors as well as combined alcohol and other drug use as potential contributors to the greater alcohol-related health problems for Blacks in the general population. Comprehensive study of alcohol and other drug use norms and customs within the Black community is recommended to aid in the development of prevention and treatment strategies for alcohol-related problems among Blacks.

Alcohol, smoking and pregnancy: some observations on ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom

This paper describes drinking and smoking patterns before and during pregnancy in 363 women from ethnic minorities living in West London. Drinking and smoking were less common and levels of consumption were lower amongst women of Afro-Caribbean, Asian or Oriental origin than amongst Europeans. However, 75% of the Afro-Caribbeans, 56% of the Orientals and 47% of the Asians did drink alcohol before pregnancy. Twenty-one per cent of the Europeans, 5% of the Afro-Caribbeans, 3% of the Orientals drank more than 100 g alcohol per week (the level at which fetal harm may result). Drinking and smoking decreased in pregnancy in all ethnic groups, but 31% of Afro-Caribbeans, 29% of Orientals and 18% of Asians continued drinking. It is important to take alcohol and smoking histories from all pregnant women whatever their racial origin as part of good antenatal care.

Racial factors influencing college students' ratings of alcohol's usefulness

Efforts to understand alcohol use and abuse among young adults necessarily require attention to drinkers' motivations to drink. In the present study, dose-related reasons for drinking were assessed to determine the extent to which expected effects of alcohol are correlated with race and gender among college students. A consistent association between endorsements of alcohol's usefulness (i.e., Useful for Feeling Better, Useful for Feeling in Charge, Useful for Relieving Emotional Distress) and race, gender, and volume of alcohol rated was found. In particular, black female college students (relative to white females and black males) tended to ascribe much stronger utility to higher amounts of alcohol. A similar tendency was found for white males relative to white females. There were few group differences on usefulness ratings provided for lower amounts of alcohol. These findings indicate that the perceived usefulness of alcohol in this population of college students varies considerably according to race, gender and amount of alcohol, with the effects pronounced among black females.