title: Relationships between socioeconomic status and drinking problems among black and white men.
abstract: We sought to examine the relationships between socioeconomic status and drinking problems within the Black and White male populations. A two-way interactions of social class with race/ethnicity, and with drinking consequences and alcohol dependence symptoms was hypothesized among drinkers. Drinking problems were regressed on social class, race/ethnicity, age, alcohol consumption, and drinking settings. Social class was based on a composite of respondent's income, education, and main wage earner's occupation. Two types of drinking problems were analyzed: drinking consequences and alcohol dependence symptoms. Our hypothesis was partially confirmed. Interactions of social class with race/ethnicity and with drinking problems were observed. Less affluent Black men reported greater numbers of drinking consequences and total drinking problems than less affluent White men; the reverse was true for affluent Black and White men. Results suggest that the relationships between socioeconomic status and drinking problems may vary by race/ethnicity.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55454-1015, USA.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Jones-Webb
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Hsiao
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hannan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data