Excessive Drinking Among African American Men: Individual and Contextual Correlates

Abstract

In this article, the authors explored associations of multiple domains with regular drinking and getting drunk among adult African American men. Questionnaire-based, computer-assisted interviews were conducted with 484 men in Atlanta, Georgia. Data analysis involved multivariate logistic regression analyses. Findings show that being older increased the odds of both drinking behaviors. Sensation seeking increased the odds of regular drinking, and having experienced childhood sexual and physical abuse increased the odds of getting drunk. Having health insurance reduced the odds of both outcomes. Insurance coverage and the heterogeneity among adult African American men must be considered in risk reduction efforts.

KEYWORDS:

• African American
• alcohol
• men

Acknowledgments

The project described was supported by Grant Number 1 R01 DA025494-01 from the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Drug Abuse or the National Institutes of Health.

Notes

^a These variables do not total to N = 484 due to missing data.

^b Includes separated, widowed, and divorced.

Note. Values not presented as percentages are Pearson correlation coefficients.

†p < .10, *p < . 05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.0.

^a The variable was coded as follows: 1 = never homeless and 0 = ever homeless.

†p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .00.