Drinking Behavior of Negro Collegians; A Study of Selected Men

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Abstract
From a review of the limited literature describing the drinking behavior and the consequences of drinking among American Negroes, 3 themes were extracted: drinking is prevalent among Negroes; drinking among them is associated with a high incidence of personal and social complications; and among Negroes with middlestatus backgrounds, self-disparagement is a prominent component of the complications associated with drinking. A probability sample (N=49) of Negro male collegians in a southern church-related (Protestant) coeducational college was used to assess the generalizations implicit in the literature. The interview schedule used included a projective technique previously developed by Maddox and Allen as well as scales developed by Mulford and Miller and by Straus and Bacon. The implicit generalizations in the alcohol literature about drinking behavior among Negroes in the United States were supported. In comparison with youth described in other studies, the subjects were less likely to be abstainers (10%), more likely to be light drinkers (55%) but not more likely to have experienced complications as a result of drinking. Compared to adults of another study, they were more likely to be preoccupied with alcohol (45%) and to drink for effect (59%). Low self-esteem was found to be a correlate of both preoccupation and drinking for effect. A predominantly negative image of alcohol was reflected in the projective material. Both the limited size of the study sample and the use of measures whose reliability and validity have not been established make the reported findings quite tentative. Further research is needed to increase information about all aspects of the drinking behavior of a population which has, to the present, been largely ignored. In subsequent research, high priority should be given to exploring the relation of social status, of situational value climates, and of personality structure and dynamics to the function and consequences of alcohol use among Negroes.

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