Attitudinal correlates of alcohol use among African American youth

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate attitudinal and social correlates to recent alcohol use (past 30 days) and episodic heavy drinking (often/a lot) among African American youth. Methods: African American students completed a two page survey examining attitudinal and social correlates of alcohol use. The survey was administered to African American students in 7th - 12th grades in one metropolitan city. Prior to survey administration, the survey was tested for validity and reliability resulting in correlation coefficients for stability reliability and internal consistency reliability > .81. Results: A total of 7488 (77% response rate) African American students completed the survey. Of participants, 13.6% reported recent alcohol use whereas 5.1% reported engaging in episodic drinking. Logistic regression analyses indicated the following variables placed students at increased odds for recent alcohol use and episodic heavy drinking (p < .001): Being male, being in high school (9th – 12th grade), and being employed. In addition, perceived harm of substance use and parent/peer disapproval of substance use was negatively associated with alcohol use. Conclusions: Findings from this study may assist youth health professionals in developing effective alcohol prevention programs for African American youth.