Uses and Misuses of the Concept of Ethnicity in Alcohol Studies: An Essay in Deconstruction

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Abstract
The importance of ethnicity in relation to patterns of alcohol use and its outcomes is widely recognized but imprecisely reported. A deconstructionist approach analyzes five dominant models of ethnicity: as bureaucratic category, race, national heritage, religion, and special population. Each usage is found to be imprecise and unreliable, and many of the usages are garbled, with inappropriate comparisons commonly made among them. Despite methodological weaknesses in scientific terms, many such studies have been insightful and have offered useful support for the importance of sociocultural factors. Further specification of the nature of ethnicity, emphasizing social learning about alcohol, with increasing attention to intraethnic variation, holds promise for increasing our understanding. [Translations are provided. See the International Abstracts at the end of the issue.]

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