Another area pertains to social and cultural context; that is, how drinking culture, the social status of racial/ethnic groups, and the places where people live might affect vulnerability to problems. Given the relatively “drier” culture of African Americans and conservative attitudes towards Latina drinking (Caetano, 1984), persons exhibiting nonconventional drinking behavior within these cultures could encounter problems even at moderate levels of consumption (see arguments by (Herd, 1994)). It is also possible that racial/ethnic minorities are subject to greater societal scrutiny and stigma on account of their drinking. Research has shown, for instance, that blacks and Hispanics are far more likely than whites to be arrested for drunk driving, despite their comparable or even lower rates of driving while drunk (Caetano and Clark, 2000; Herd, 1994). Similarly, compared to their white counterparts, highly educated African American men have reported much higher rates of alcohol-related problems despite their low rates of heavy drinking (Barr, et al., 1993). Such findings may reflect the closer police monitoring of poor and minority neighborhoods, or minority visibility in predominantly white middle-class settings (Barr, et al., 1993; Herd, 1994; Jones-Webb, et al., 1997a).
