More than 7 percent of adults surveyed met DSM–IV criteria for 1-year alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, or both. Males were almost three times more likely than females to meet the criteria for alcohol abuse and/or dependence. However, that the male-to-female ratio is lowest in the youngest age group among nonblacks suggests that nonblack females may be catching up. This phenomenon does not generalize to black females because the male-to-female ratios in blacks were shown to decrease as a function of age. Possible reasons for the greater discrepancy between male and female rates of alcohol abuse and dependence among younger blacks compared with younger nonblacks include differential age-related role responsibilities or differences in perceived social acceptability of drinking per se between the ethnic groups in the general population.
