Although racial/ethnic disparities in alcohol-related health conditions have been documented, research has produced mixed findings on disparities in alcohol-related social and dependence problems. In some respects, this is not surprising. Social problems due to drinking reflect not only drinking behavior, but social network, cultural and societal conditions (Kuendig, et al., 2008; Room, 1998). Inconsistent findings regarding alcohol dependence are perhaps more perpelexing, given the association between dependence and alcohol-related health problems. The current study was motivated by these seeming contradictions and discrepant reports based on prior national surveys, and has attempted to address some of the methodological issues that might have contributed to the present ambiguity.
