Chunk #55 — Explanations for Greater Negative Social Consequences of Alcohol Use among African Americans Compared to European Americans — Vulnerability to Alcohol Effects
The expression of more intoxicated behaviors by some African Americans, in the face of (a) more negative within-group social consequences from intoxication and (b) more frequent surveillance of alcohol-related behaviors engaged in by African Americans on the part of law enforcement officials, may contribute to higher levels of alcohol-related problems for those African American drinkers with the ADH1B*3 allele. Thus, even though presence of the allele could protect against progression to heavier consumption, it may increase risk for problems stemming from even moderate consumption. Support for this hypothesis is provided by a study by Pedersen and McCarthy (2009), who examined the acute subjective response to alcohol among African American young adults in an alcohol administration study. They found that African American male participants experienced sharper increases in stimulation on the ascending limb of the blood alcohol curve compared to African American females at a moderate dose of alcohol. Moreover, recent work by Pedersen and McCarthy (2012) found that African Americans experienced a sharper increase in stimulation on the ascending limb compared to European Americans at the same dose of alcohol
