Lim Sabina, Kasprow Wesley J, Rosenheck Robert A
Department of Psychiatry at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06519, USA.
Psychiatr Serv. 2006 May;57(5):704-7. doi: 10.1176/ps.2006.57.5.704.
This study examined the proportion of Asian Americans among homeless veterans and among veterans in the general population to calculate the relative risk of homelessness among Asian-American veterans. It also examined differences in rates of psychiatric and substance use disorders between homeless racial and ethnic subgroups.
Data were gathered between 1997 and 2001 from the Health Care for Homeless Veterans program and included data from administrative intake, patients' self-reports, and clinicians' diagnostic assessments of substance use disorders and psychiatric illness.
Data were examined for 67,441 veterans. Asian-American veterans had a significantly lower risk of homelessness than veterans of other ethnic groups. Alcohol abuse was significantly and consistently less prevalent among Asian Americans compared with blacks and Hispanics. However, drug abuse was less prevalent among Asian Americans than among blacks and Hispanics, but rates were similar to those of whites.
Lower rates of alcohol abuse may protect Asian-American veterans from becoming homeless.
本研究调查了无家可归退伍军人以及普通退伍军人中亚洲裔美国人的比例，以计算亚洲裔美国退伍军人无家可归的相对风险。同时，研究还探讨了无家可归的不同种族和族裔亚组之间精神疾病和物质使用障碍发生率的差异。
1997年至2001年期间收集了来自无家可归退伍军人医疗保健项目的数据，包括行政入院数据、患者自我报告以及临床医生对物质使用障碍和精神疾病的诊断评估数据。
对67441名退伍军人的数据进行了分析。亚洲裔美国退伍军人无家可归的风险显著低于其他族裔的退伍军人。与黑人和西班牙裔相比，亚洲裔美国人中酒精滥用的发生率显著且持续较低。然而，亚洲裔美国人中药物滥用的发生率低于黑人和西班牙裔，但与白人相似。
较低的酒精滥用率可能使亚洲裔美国退伍军人免于无家可归。
