The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #57788

Dionne Godette, MS, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 10116 Worrell Place, Glenn Dale, MD 20769, 301-464-2855, godette@email.unc.edu and Susan T. Ennett, PhD, Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#7440 Rosenau Hall, School of Public Health-UNC CH, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7440.

Alcohol misuse poses a substantial public health burden to Blacks in the United States. This study contributes to the knowledge on alcohol misuse among Blacks by investigating two dimensions of a phenomenon called problem drinking. These dimensions are: (1) the level of alcohol use; and (2) the presence of alcohol-related social problems. Using a within-group design, this study employs life course development theory as a framework to conceptualize the trajectories of both dimensions of problem drinking. In addition, the relationship between each dimension and several explanatory variables is tested. The explanatory variables include person and environmental factors such as gender, parent/family approval, friend approval, religious controls, as well as control variables that serve as proxies for SES. The data for this secondary analysis are from the Longitudinal Study of Substance Use Careers. Four waves of longitudinal, panel data are analyzed using latent curve analysis. The dataset for this study includes an N=641 Black respondents. At the first wave of data collection, the respondents were in middle school (age range 10-16). At the final wave, 9 years later, these adolescents were young adults (age range 18-24). Since Blacks are currently the largest minority group in the U.S., it is expected that obtaining a better understanding of the development of problem drinking will lead to more efficacious interventions to prevent or reduce problem drinking behavior in a substantial proportion of the population. In turn, these interventions will have a considerable public health impact on Blacks in this country.

Learning Objectives:

Participants in this session will learn about a theoritically informed etiological study with a within-group design. They will learn about emerging strategies for testing change within an individual as well as change among individuals within the same group. Participants will also discuss the contributions of within groups studies to the field of alcohol use prevention. The learning objectives of this session are:
• To evaluate a model for determining individual differences in the level of alcohol use and the presence of alcohol-related social problems among Blacks from adolescence through young adulthood;
• To evaluate a model for determining the relationship between the level of alcohol use and alcohol-related social problems among young Blacks from adolescence through young adulthood; and
• To evaluate a model for determining person and environmental factors that predict the course of individual trajectories of alcohol use and the presence of alcohol-related social problems among young Blacks.
• To discuss alcohol-related issues of particular importance to young Blacks.

Keywords: Alcohol, Minority Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.