Chunk #22 — Explanations for Lower Alcohol Use among African Americans Compared to European Americans — Historical Perspective — Cultural Norms and Attitudes towards Alcohol
Among African Americans, there has been a general lack of integration of drinking into many aspects of social life, such as at regular mealtimes, religious activities, and secular occasions with political or social betterment goals (Borker, Hembrey, & Herd, 1980; Herd, 1997a; Herd & Grube, 1993, 1996). Specifically, Herd and Grube (1993) found that 80% of European American women compared to 46% of African American women reported drinking while at a restaurant at dinner. Moreover, the European American women also reported consuming over three times more than the average number of drinks consumed by African American women when at dinner at a restaurant. For adult African Americans who do drink, there also appear to be strong norms for maintaining social control and not showing signs of intoxication (Borker et al., 1980; Herd, 1997a). For example, Peralta and Steele (2009) found that compared to European American college students, African American students were less likely to drink heavily because they felt that they would be criticized for drinking more than four or more drinks in a row by their non-European American university
