African Americans and Hispanics bear a disproportionately greater burden of alcohol-related health problems compared to whites, as evidenced by higher rates of liver cirrhosis, death rates due to cirrhosis, and rates of overall alcohol-related mortality (Greenfield, 2001; Yoon, et al., 2001). It is unclear, however, whether racial disparities also extend to problems such as alcohol dependence and negative social consequences of drinking. Alcohol dependence has been linked to chronic health conditions, such as liver and cardiovascular disease, and to higher rates of alcohol-related morbidity and mortality (Dawson, 2000; Rehm, et al., 2003). Though less often studied, alcohol dependence has also been linked to acute and chronic social consequences of drinking (Drummond, 1990), such as relationship, employment, financial, and legal problems. It seems plausible that social and dependence-related problems might precede or co-occur with alcohol-related health conditions, and therefore that the racial/ethnic patterning of such problems might also show evidence of differential risk. Yet the findings from large, general population surveys are mixed on this point.
