Chunk #41 — Explanations for Greater Negative Social Consequences of Alcohol Use among African Americans Compared to European Americans — Environmental Influences
1994a; Neuspiel, 1996). The observation of differential treatment towards drinking based on the race of the drinker is not a new one. In 1981, Benjamin and Benjamin stated: “moderate drinking may be tolerated if the drinker is White. A boss, foreman or policeman may ignore or simply “bear with” the White drinker, whereas the range of tolerable deviation may be narrower for the Black drinker, especially when he becomes enmeshed in the net of law enforcement. A Black drinker may become the object of racial hatred and intolerance in addition to any negative judgment toward the drinking behavior.” (p. 242) Thus, it may be the case that studies showing higher rates of negative consequences from drinking, even at lower levels of use (e.g., Mulia et al., 2009), may be in part due to the higher likelihood of African Americans getting “in trouble” due to their skin color rather than their blood alcohol content (BAC) or behavior.
