Studies have associated socioeconomic disadvantage with alcohol problems and alcohol-related mortality (Harrison and Gardiner, 1999; Khan, et al., 2002). Research further suggests that this link might, in some instances, occur independently of alcohol consumption. For example, persons with low SES have been shown to be more likely to drink in parking lots and street corners, locations under public scrutiny that can carry a higher risk of social consequences regardless of the amount of alcohol consumed (Herd, 1994; Herd and Grube, 1993). More recently, studies have found perceived racial discrimination and unfair treatment to be related to psychological distress, drinking to cope with stress, and alcohol problems among racial/ethnic minorities (Martin, et al., 2003; Mulia, et al., in press; Williams, et al., 1997). While drinking as a means of coping might be an important link between experiences of minority status and alcohol problems, it is also possible that the drinking behavior of racial/ethnic minorities elicits different societal and cultural reactions, and possibly more severe social consequences (see (Herd, 1994; Jones-Webb, et al., 1995)). A question that arises, then, is whether the disadvantaged economic and social status of black and Hispanic Americans make them more prone to experiencing alcohol-related problems.
