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. 2016:2016:7513827.
doi: 10.1155/2016/7513827. Epub 2016 Sep 26.

The Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Alcohol-Related Problems in a Community Sample of African American Women

Hugh Klein  1 , Claire E Sterk  2 , Kirk W Elifson  2
Affiliations

The Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Alcohol-Related Problems in a Community Sample of African American Women

Hugh Klein et al. J Addict. 2016.

Abstract

Purpose. This study examines the prevalence of alcohol-related problems, the factors underlying these problems, and whether or not there is evidence of syndemic effects in a community population of southern, urban African American women. Methods. Questionnaire-based interviews were conducted with 817 women, all African American, from 80 targeted census block groups in Atlanta, Georgia. Results. Most of the alcohol users (67.8%) experienced at least one problem as a result of their alcohol (ab)use, with most women experiencing two or more such problems. Eight factors were found to be associated with experiencing more alcohol problems: being aged 30 or older, having had no recent health insurance, lower levels of educational attainment, self-identifying as lesbian or bisexual, experiencing greater amounts of childhood maltreatment, greater impulsivity, perceiving one's local community or neighborhood to be unsafe, and having a larger number of criminally involved friends. Conclusions. Drinking-related problems were prevalent in this population. Numerous factors underlie the extent to which African American women experienced problems resulting from their alcohol use. There is strong evidence of syndemic-type effects influencing drinking problems in this population, and future efforts to reduce the negative impact of alcohol (ab)use ought to consider the adoption of programs using a syndemics' theory approach.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conceptual model.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of drinking problems, by age and friends' criminality.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Number of drinking problems, by age group, friends' criminality, and childhood maltreatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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