In sum, African Americans have experienced dramatically different circumstances in relation to employment, adequate housing arrangements, and overall poverty than European Americans. Within this difficult context, African Americans had a reduced capacity to meet important life needs (Ryan & Deci, 2002). Furthermore, the isolation of poor African Americans from others during the deindustrialization period of the 1970s resulted in less frequent interactions with individuals or family members who resided in more stable urban areas or in the suburbs. Additionally, lower income African Americans faced more difficulties in access to welfare or social assistance programs. Together, this state of affairs describes limited access to many important life reinforcers, which can create conditions that increase the likelihood of heavy, problematic alcohol consumption. As we describe next, this lack of access to life reinforcers appears to be greater for African American men compared to their female counterparts, which places this subgroup of individuals at a heightened risk for heavy drinking and related problems.
