Among African Americans, there are two subgroups that have consistently shown higher rates of heavy drinking and related problems: low-income African American men and older African American men. We next argue that the typical experience of these groups includes limited access to standard life reinforces (SLRs) and little perception that increased access to SLRs is available through sobriety. To make this argument, we will present data on the limited access to SLRs among low-income African American men compared to both low-income European American men and low-income African American women, and then present our theory as to how these factors significantly influence the risk of alcoholism and related problems among low-income and older African American men.
