By Faith Adams, and Dr. Traci Murray, guest authors
Addiction comes in many forms and does not discriminate. However, it’s important to understand its impact on specific populations to develop more targeted and effective strategies aimed at improving health equity. In honor of Black History Month, we will explore alcohol use disorder (AUD) and its impact on African American (AA) youth. We will also discuss the role of research in achieving more equitable health outcomes.
Across the U.S., underage drinking is a serious public health concern. Alcohol remains the most, and often, first substance used among youth. In 2021, nearly 6 million people aged 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol. Among those, more than half (3.2 million) reported binge alcohol use (SAMHSA, 2023). An estimated 29.5 million people aged 12 and older were diagnosed with an AUD in 2021 including 900,000 youth aged 12-17 (SAMHSA, 2021). Nearly 5% of those youth identified as Black or AA and 3% identified as two or more races (SAMHSA, 2021).
Understanding the development of alcohol behaviors is important to understanding why some adolescents drink. First, alcohol-related cognitions, known as alcohol expectancies (AE), develop as early as age 4 (Smit, et al, 2018). AE significantly influences drinking behaviors. A positive AE is the belief that alcohol leads to more pleasurable outcomes (e.g., being more social) and is associated with increased drinking. In contrast, a negative AE is the belief that alcohol leads to undesirable outcomes (e.g., feeling ill) and is associated with less drinking (Smit, et al, 2018).
