title: The Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Alcohol-Related Problems in a Community Sample of African American Women.
abstract: Purpose. This study examines the prevalence of alcohol-related problems, the factors underlying these problems, and whether or not there is evidence of syndemic effects in a community population of southern, urban African American women.Methods. Questionnaire-based interviews were conducted with 817 women, all African American, from 80 targeted census block groups in Atlanta, Georgia.Results. Most of the alcohol users (67.8%) experienced at least one problem as a result of their alcohol (ab)use, with most women experiencing two or more such problems. Eight factors were found to be associated with experiencing more alcohol problems: being aged 30 or older, having had no recent health insurance, lower levels of educational attainment, self-identifying as lesbian or bisexual, experiencing greater amounts of childhood maltreatment, greater impulsivity, perceiving one's local community or neighborhood to be unsafe, and having a larger number of criminally involved friends.Conclusions. Drinking-related problems were prevalent in this population. Numerous factors underlie the extent to which African American women experienced problems resulting from their alcohol use. There is strong evidence of syndemic-type effects influencing drinking problems in this population, and future efforts to reduce the negative impact of alcohol (ab)use ought to consider the adoption of programs using a syndemics' theory approach.
authors.affiliation: Kensington Research Institute, Silver Spring, MD, USA; Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1764-668X
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.affiliation: Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Claire E
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6349-1909
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Sterk
authors.affiliation: Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Kirk W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Elifson