Given that rates of alcohol consumption and AD vary across race/ethnicity (Grant et al., 2015; SAMHSA, 2015) and that pathways of risk to alcohol problems may differ among individuals of different racial/ethnic backgrounds (Akins, Smith, Mosher, 2010; Su & Supple, 2014), we explored whether the patterns of associations between positive and negative reinforcement and alcohol use outcomes differ across race/ethnicity. In addition, drinking patterns also differ across sex (Grant et al., 2015; SAMHSA, 2015) and researchers have suggested that there may be sex differences in the physiological, psychological, and social factors influencing alcohol use outcomes (Schutle, Rarno, & Brown, 2009). Thus, we also explored whether the patterns of associations between positive and negative reinforcement and alcohol use outcomes differ across sex. Examination of potential differences across sex and race/ethnicity was exploratory, and thus no specific hypotheses were proposed.
