Alcohol and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe; a twenty-year follow-up study.

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Abstract
In a 20-yr follow-up study of alcohol use on the reservation Standing Rock [South Dakota, USA] Sioux, interviews were conducted in 1980 with 184 subjects (109 women) at least 12 yr of age (lowered from 15 in 1960). In 1960, 31% of the sample abstained, 45% drank occasionally and 24% drank regularly; the figures for 1980 were 42% (29% of the men and 50% of the women), 27% (20% of the men and 32% of the women) and 31% (50% of the men and 17% of the women), respectively. Of the drinkers, 40% of the men and 16% of the women considered themselves alcoholics and, of the nondrinkers, 50% of the men and 18% of the women considered themselves recovering alcoholics. It is estimated that 16% of the population over 12 yr of age are alcoholics, 5 times more than in the USA non-Indian population and the highest of any ethnic group. In 1960, 56% of the drinkers consumed an average of 1-2 bottles of beer, glasses of wine or drinks of distilled spirits per occasion, whereas 64% did in 1980 and only 4% of a comparison group of whites did. An estimated 50% of men and 25% of women over 40 yr were alcoholics. There were more young women and juvenile drinkers in 1980. Drug use, which was unknown in 1960, was found in 39% of the drinkers and is a problem primarily among juveniles, especially males. The number of classic symptoms of alcoholism increased greatly over the 20 yr to equal that of non-Indians, the only major difference being that Indians almost never drink alone.

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