Chunk #103 — Theory of Heightened Risk of Drinking and Problems among Low-Income African American Men — Access to Standard Life Reinforcers — SLR access, race, sex, and age
Problems associated with the higher rates of substance use in this group appear to be compounded by reduced access to and/or reduced utilization of health care services within low-income neighborhoods (e.g., Lin & Harris, 2009). Poor African American men drink more, they have few disincentives to drink, they drink while older, and they tend not to utilize health care services. This subgroup of African Americans appears to be at increased risk for enduring prolonged and potentially fatal consequences from their alcohol use. Alcohol-related liver disease mortality rates have been found to be considerably higher among African American men (7.4 per 100,000) compared to European American men (5.2 per 100,000: Kim, Brown, Terrault, & El-Serag, 2003; Stinson, Nephew, Dufour, & Grant, 1996), and the highest level of risk was for those African American men who were single, urban residents, unemployed, and had low educational attainment and family income (Singh & Hoyert, 2000). It is possible that increased access to, and utilization of, health care could mitigate these effects.
