Subcultural differences in alcohol use among youth.
A specifically designed anonymous questionnaire concerning the use of alcoholic beverages was given to all young people in residence at the San Diego Job Corps Center. Corpsmembers (n = 335), age 16-22 years (mean 18.7 years) completed the questionnaire. There were 67 Caucasians, 65 Blacks, 111 Hispanics, 69 Indochinese, and 23 others. Eighty-five percent of the corpsmembers reported drinking alcohol 1-5 times weekly during the previous six months, and 14% reported average weekend binges of more than 20 drinks. Sixty percent of the adolescent drinkers reported medical, legal, or vocational problems as a result of their drinking. Some striking differences were noted in the drinking habits of the four major subcultural groups represented: 1) Caucasian males began serious drinking at an earlier age than Black, Hispanic or Indochinese youth; 2) more Hispanic youth than others used multiple drugs in addition to marijuana, which was commonly used by all adolescent drinkers; and 3) recently immigrated Indochinese youth indicated that they had turned to alcohol as a means of forgetting past experiences.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000523:psychology; D002140:California; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology*