To the degree that those African American men who are drinking heavily during their mid-20s continue to drink heavily well into late adulthood, they risk experiencing more severe health consequences associated with heavy drinking during this stage of life (NIAAA, 1998). Engaging in such drinking patterns may be particularly detrimental for lower income African Americans, given research indicating they tend to have less access to, and make less use of, health care, even when controlling for income and health insurance coverage compared to other ethnic groups (Schmidt et al., 2007; Weinick, Zuvekas, & Cohen, 2000).
