The links between ethnicity, cultural identity and alcohol use, abuse and dependence in a New Zealand birth cohort.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the role of ethnicity and cultural identity in alcohol use and misuse in a birth cohort of over 1000 young people.


METHODS
Data on ethnicity, cultural identification, alcohol use, alcohol abuse/dependence (AAD), socio-economic factors and childhood adversity were gathered as part of a longitudinal study of a New Zealand birth cohort (the Christchurch Health and Development Study).


RESULTS
Those reporting Māori ethnicity had rates of alcohol use and AAD that were 1.47-1.63 times higher than the rates found in the non-Māori people. However, there was little evidence to suggest that rates of alcohol use and AAD differed according to Māori cultural identity. Generalized estimating equation regression analyses adjusting for socio-economic disadvantage and childhood adversity slightly reduced the magnitude of these associations, but they remained statistically significant [AAD: odds ratio = 1.52; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11-2.10; consumption: incidence rate ratio = 1.31; 95% CI: 1.13-1.52].


CONCLUSIONS
(a) Māori ethnicity was found to be associated with modestly increased risks of alcohol use and AAD (b) the higher rates of alcohol use and AAD among the Māori members of the cohort could not be explained by a combination of socio-economic factors and greater exposure to environmental factors known to influence the risk of alcohol use and misuse.
Department of Psychology, University of Otago, School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, UK.
Dannette
D
Marie
David M
DM
Fergusson
Joseph M
JM
Boden
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000208:ethnology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000208:ethnology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003467:Cultural Deprivation; D003469:Culture; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012923:Social Class; D012933:Social Identification