Ethnic Identity, Religiousness, and Drinking Among African Americans: What's the Connection?

ABSTRACT

This study tested a theoretical model explaining how ethnic identity and religiousness might be related to alcohol use among African Americans. One hundred seventy-three African American undergraduates at a large, public, Southeastern historically black university completed the study. Findings indicate that although religiousness accounted for 31% of the relationship between ethnic identity and alcohol use, whether mediation existed depended on which dimensions of ethnic identity, religiousness, and alcohol use were examined. Daily spiritual experiences (but not forgiveness or private religious activities) mediated the link between ethnic belonging (but not ethnic identity search) and average number of alcoholic beverages consumed in a sitting (but not frequency of use or problems with use).

KEYWORDS:

• African Americans
• alcohol
• ethnic identity
• religiousness

Notes

∗Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

∗∗Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

∗Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

∗∗Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

∗Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

∗∗Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Andrea M. Smith

Andrea M. Smith is affiliated with the Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.