Cultural beliefs mediate racial differences in college drinking and alcohol-related problems

Racial differences in drinking have been documented but the underlying mechanisms are still ignored. We investigated the extent to which cultural beliefs (religious and normative beliefs, and expectations about alcohol effects) mediated racial differences in drinking and related problems. Hypotheses: 1) White college students drink more frequently and heavily and report more problems than non-Whites; 2) Whites are less religious, report higher percentages of friends drinking heavily (normative beliefs) and view more alcohol benefits (expectations) than non-Whites; 3) racial differences in religious beliefs mediate racial asymmetries in normative beliefs and alcohol expectations and in consumption frequency and quantity; 4) racial differences in religious beliefs, normative beliefs and alcohol expectations mediate racial asymmetries in alcohol-related problems beyond differences in consumption frequency and quantity. Method: As part of a larger, voluntary online survey, 368 undergraduate students (267 Whites; 101 non-Whites) randomly selected completed the measures presented here. Results: Racial differences were observed on all variables (Hypotheses 1 & 2). Hypotheses 3 and 4 were tested using structural equation modeling; the model fit was excellent (×2[4] = 3.93, p = .42, ns, CFI = 1.00, RMSEA = .000). Race had direct effects on religious and normative beliefs, and frequent drinking, indicating full mediations of the impact of race on drinking quantity and alcohol-related problems through these variables (for problems: regardless of differences in consumption quantity). Understanding that racial differences in drinking and related problems are grounded in cultural beliefs (religion, social norms and expectations) should guide prevention research toward more culturally sensitive strategies.