Acculturation and Alcohol Use among Blacks: The Benefits of Remaining Culturally Traditional.

Introduction Studies of alcohol use among Blacks consistently have found that Blacks are more likely to be abstainers than Whites, with 29% of Black women and 16% of Black men consuming no drinks at all during a week or month (Caetano & Herd, 1984; Herd, 1987, 1990; Herd, & Grube, 1996). Income, employment, and education do not account for Black abstinence, but cultural traditionally does (Caetano & Herd, 1984; Herd & Grube, 1996). Black abstainers (compared to Blacks who drink) tend to be highly religious (Caetano & Herd, 1984; Herd & Grube, 1996) and have a strong preference for Black people and strong connections to their families (Herd & Grube, 1996). Although other possible cultural correlates of drinking among Blacks have yet to be explored and need to be (Herd, 1987), these findings are consistent with those for other ethnic groups (e.g., Latinos) insofar as they suggest that culturally traditional members of minority groups do not drink, and that their abstinence is due to their being more religious, and having stronger, traditional family values than their acculturated counterparts (Caetano & Herd, 1984). In line with Herd's findings and suggestions for further research on the role of culture in Black drinking, we examined the relationship between acculturation (degree of immersion in African American culture) and alcohol use among Blacks. Consistent with the above literature, we hypothesized that (1) Black abstainers (those who have no drinks at all in a 7-day period) would score as more culturally traditional (more immersed in Black culture) than Black drinkers, and that (2) abstainers would have stronger Religious Beliefs and Family Values (as Herd found) than drinkers, and perhaps would be more immersed in other dimensions of African American culture as well. Method Subjects Five-hundred twenty Black adults (277 women, 243 men) completed an anonymous survey. Their ages ranged from 18 to 79 years (Mean = 28.2 years, s = 10.01 years), and their incomes from zero to $150,000 (Mean = $16,883, s = $15,599). Education levels were: 57 (11.5%) had not completed high school, 140 (28.2%) had graduated from high school, 235 (47.3%) had some college classes, and 65 (12.5%) had undergraduate or graduate degrees. Their employment statuses were: 183 (37.3%) worked full-time, 81 (16.5%) were full-time students, 73 (14.9%) were students who worked part-time, 63 (12.9%) worked part-time, 13 (2.7%) were full-time housewives, 68 (13.9%) were supported by AFDC, SSI, or worker's compensation, and 9 (1.8%) were retired. Procedure Subjects were sampled evenings and weekends for a 4-month period from 10 randomly selected middle-and working-class census tracts in San Bernardino County, CA. Black Research Assistants (RAs) approached every home in each census tract and if a Black adult answered the door, requested that s/he participate in a survey for $10. Subjects were given a survey and the RAs left, returning 1 hour later to retrieve it and pay the subject $10 for participating. Materials The anonymous survey consisted of the African American Acculturation Scale-Revised Form (AAAS-R, Landrine & Klonoff, under review), the question How many drinks (beer, wine, wine coolers, malt liquor, hard liquor) do you have each week?, and demographic questions. The AAAS-R is a new, revised, brief form of the African American Acculturation Scales (AAAS, Landrine & Klonoff, 1994, 1996). The original AAAS was a 74-item survey measuring eight theoretically derived dimensions (aspects) of African American culture. The scale was too long for many subjects, and many African Americans disliked several of the questions. Hence, all of the problematic items in the AAAS were dropped, and the new, AAAS-Revised created by factor-analyzing the remaining 47 items. The AAAS-R consists of 47 items that no Blacks find troublesome and problematic. …