Although it may seem that African Americans should be at a lowered risk for alcohol dependence and related problems given consistent findings that they engage in less heavy drinking than European Americans, the opposite appears to be true. African Americans appear to experience greater and more severe alcohol-related problems for drinking than European Americans who are drinking at comparative levels. In this next section, we summarize the body of findings that may help to explain the heightened risk of experiencing negative consequences that is found among African American drinkers.
