School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2012 Nov;73(6):885-9. doi: 10.15288/jsad.2012.73.885.
Understanding factors associated with heavy drinking among homeless youth is important for prevention efforts. Social networks are associated with drinking among homeless youth, and studies have called for attention to racial differences in networks that may affect drinking behavior. This study investigates differences in network characteristics by the racial background of homeless youth, and associations of network characteristics with heavy drinking. (Heavy drinking was defined as having five or more drinks of alcohol in a row within a couple of hours on at least one day within the past 30 days.)
A probability sample of 235 Black and White homeless youths ages 13-24 were interviewed in Los Angeles County. We used chi-square or one-way analysis of variance tests to examine network differences by race and logistic regressions to identify network correlates of heavy drinking among Black and White homeless youth.
The networks of Black youth included significantly more relatives and students who attend school regularly, whereas the networks of White youth were more likely to include homeless persons, relatives who drink to intoxication, and peers who drink to intoxication. Having peers who drink heavily was significantly associated with heavy drinking only among White youth. For all homeless youth, having more students in the network who regularly attend school was associated with less risk of heavy drinking.
This study is the first to our knowledge to investigate racial differences in network characteristics and associations of network characteristics with heavy drinking among homeless youth. White homeless youth may benefit from interventions that reduce their ties with peers who drink. Enhancing ties to school-involved peers may be a promising intervention focus for both Black and White homeless youth.
了解无家可归青年酗酒的相关因素对于预防工作非常重要。社交网络与无家可归青年的饮酒行为有关，研究呼吁关注可能影响饮酒行为的网络中的种族差异。本研究调查了无家可归青年的种族背景对网络特征的差异，并探讨了网络特征与重度饮酒之间的关联。（重度饮酒定义为在过去 30 天内，至少有一天连续几小时内喝了五杯或更多杯酒。）
在洛杉矶县对 235 名 13-24 岁的黑人和白人无家可归青年进行了概率抽样调查。我们使用卡方检验或单因素方差分析检验来检查种族差异对网络的影响，并使用逻辑回归来确定黑人和白人无家可归青年重度饮酒的网络相关因素。
黑人青年的网络中显著包含更多的亲戚和正常上学的学生，而白人青年的网络更可能包含无家可归者、酗酒的亲戚和酗酒的同龄人。与白人青年相比，与大量酗酒的同龄人交往与重度饮酒显著相关。对于所有无家可归的青年来说，网络中更多经常上学的学生与重度饮酒的风险降低相关。
本研究是首次调查无家可归青年网络特征的种族差异以及网络特征与重度饮酒之间的关联。白人无家可归青年可能受益于减少与酗酒同龄人联系的干预措施。加强与在校参与的同龄人联系可能是黑人和白人无家可归青年的一个有前途的干预重点。
