Because excessive alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of preventable death among Americans (Mokdad et al., 2004), its disproportionate impact on racial/ethnic minorities constitutes a major public health problem. Compared to Whites, Blacks and Latinos experience higher rates of alcohol-related mortality (Greenfield, 2001; Hilton, 2006; Keyes et al., 2012; Stinson et al., 1993; Yoon and Yi, 2007), and Black and Latino drinkers are at greater risk than White drinkers for both alcohol dependence and other alcohol-related consequences even given an equivalent amount and pattern of consumption (Herd, 1994; Jones-Webb et al., 1997b; Mulia et al., 2009; Witbrodt et al., 2014). Studies specifically show that, among drinkers, Blacks and Latinos evidence a much higher intercept than Whites for both alcohol dependence and social/health consequences at the lowest consumption level, but a weaker relationship between consumption and problems, with racial/ethnic disparities converging at high consumption levels. This pattern has been repeatedly described in National Alcohol Survey (NAS) data, with remarkable effect sizes. For example, Mulia et al. (2009) reported that among drinkers reporting no/little heavy drinking, Black and Latino males had
