Chunk #99 — Theory of Heightened Risk of Drinking and Problems among Low-Income African American Men — Access to Standard Life Reinforcers — African American men versus European American men
European American men have a better chance of employment, even at similarly low income and educational levels as African American men. Considering 20-year old high school dropouts living in low-income areas, unemployment rates were found to be 62.8% for African American men compared to 24.5% for European American men (Stratton, 1993). In experimental research in which the name on a job resume is varied to “sound African American” or “sound European American” (e.g., Jamal versus Greg; Lakisha versus Emily), European American sounding names (using identical resumes) yielded as many more callbacks as an additional eight years of work experience. Moreover, for those men who do find employment, European American men are likely to have higher earnings than African American men at similar positions (Cohen, 1998; Eller, 1994; Orzechowski, 2003).
