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. 2009 Mar;70(2):288-95.
doi: 10.15288/jsad.2009.70.288.

An examination of subjective response to alcohol in African Americans

Sarah L Pedersen  1 , Denis M McCarthy
Affiliations

An examination of subjective response to alcohol in African Americans

Sarah L Pedersen et al. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2009 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: Alcohol response is a widely studied risk factor for heavy drinking behavior and alcohol-use disorders. This study examined acute subjective response to alcohol as a predictor of drinking behavior, alcohol-related problems, and family history of alcoholism in African Americans. The convergent validity of self-reported response to alcohol (Self-Rating of the Effects of Alcohol scale [SRE]) in an African-American sample was also examined.

Method: One hundred and three African-American young adults participated in an alcohol-challenge study, receiving a moderate dose of alcohol (0.72 g/kg alcohol for men, 0.65 g/kg for women). Breath alcohol concentration and subjective response to alcohol were assessed before beverage consumption, in 15-minute intervals for the first hour following consumption, and in 30-minute intervals thereafter.

Results: Latent variable growth models indicated that experiencing increased acute stimulation from alcohol was related to past-month drinking behavior and alcohol-related problems. Regression analyses indicated that the SRE was related to drinking behavior, alcohol-related problems, having an alcohol-use disorder, and a family history of alcoholism. The SRE was not related to either sedation or stimulation following alcohol administration.

Conclusions: Results support alcohol response as a marker of risk for increased drinking behavior and alcohol-related problems in African Americans. Further research is required to directly compare African-American and white response to alcohol within an alcohol-challenge paradigm.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES) stimulation (stim.) predicting past-month drinking behavior. The figure represents the model testing the association between BAES stimulation and past-month alcohol use. Experiencing increased stimulation on the ascending limb was associated with past-month drinking behavior (p < .01). For ease of presentation, factor loadings and error terms are not depicted. Freq. = frequency; ns = not significant.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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