Although there is certainly a need for more national, randomized sample studies of this problem and longitudinal studies directly examining the complex interplay of access to SLRs on drinking behaviors among African American men across development, it appears to be the case that very impoverished and older African American men represent one group of African Americans at high risk for problem drinking (Jones-Webb et al., 1997a; Wallace, 1999b). We theorize that lower-income African American men are at increased risk due to (a) the experiences of distress associated with racial inequities; (b) lack of accessibility to important life reinforcers, such as employment, financial stability, adequate housing, and responsibility for child-care; and thus (c) difficulty meeting basic needs for competence and autonomy. We suggest that because these factors are likely to persist over time, there is a higher rate of heavy drinking in older low-income African American men, thus placing them at further increased risk for health problems from their drinking (NIAAA, 1998).
