amount of alcohol necessary to experience the effects of alcohol. Evidence indicates that the negative consequences experienced by African Americans who do consume alcohol are at least in part due to (a) stronger concerns about African American drinking than European American drinking by the dominant society and law enforcement; (b) a higher level of social sanctions for use within the African American community, which, though a protective factor, appears to result in more within-group negative social consequences for African American drinkers; (c) characteristics of typical drinking contexts and the location of liquor stores; (d) possible underestimates of amount consumed by African Americans; and (e) a genetic vulnerability that, though protective, may result in signs of intoxication after only moderate consumption, thus triggering both within-group and societal social sanctions.
