Watt Toni Terling
a Texas State University , 601 University Drive, ELA 237, Texas State University , San Marcos , TX , USA.
J Ethn Subst Abuse. 2004;3(3):33-47. doi: 10.1300/J233v03n03_03.
Black and Hispanic youth are less likely to abuse alcohol than White youth. However, the reasons for these race/ ethnic differences in alcohol abuse are unclear. The present study explores whether the variations can be explained, in part, by racial/ethnic differences in attitudes toward risk.
The National Household Survey of Drug Abuse, 2001 (n = 32,798) is used to explore race/ethnic differences in risk-taking attitudes and whether these attitudes serve to mediate race/ethnic differences in heavy drinking and drinking and driving.
Bivariate analyses reveal that Black and Hispanic youth have lower rates of alcohol abuse and a lower propensity for risk-taking than White youth. Logistic regressions reveal that the differences in risk-taking explain (but do not completely account for) observed differences in alcohol abuse. These findings are present for both males and females. Results more generally reveal that social and economic ad vantages are associated with risk-taking attitudes and thus indirectly contribute to alcohol abuse.
Researchers have long been surprised that minority youth exhibit lower rates of alcohol abuse than White youth since socioeconomic disadvantage often contributes to substance abuse. However, the present study suggests that social and economic disadvantages might also suppress risk-taking propensities, which in turn may reduce the incidence of alcohol abuse. Additional research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which social and cultural resources affect attitudes toward risk.
黑人及西班牙裔青少年酗酒的可能性低于白人青少年。然而，这些种族/族裔在酗酒方面存在差异的原因尚不清楚。本研究探讨这些差异是否部分可以由对风险态度的种族/族裔差异来解释。
使用2001年全国家庭药物滥用调查（n = 32,798）来探讨冒险态度方面的种族/族裔差异，以及这些态度是否在酗酒和酒后驾车的种族/族裔差异中起中介作用。
双变量分析显示，黑人及西班牙裔青少年的酗酒率低于白人青少年，冒险倾向也较低。逻辑回归显示，冒险方面的差异解释了（但并未完全说明）观察到的酗酒差异。这些发现对男性和女性均成立。更普遍的结果显示，社会和经济优势与冒险态度相关，因此间接导致酗酒。
长期以来，研究人员一直感到惊讶的是，少数族裔青少年的酗酒率低于白人青少年，因为社会经济劣势往往会导致药物滥用。然而，本研究表明，社会和经济劣势也可能抑制冒险倾向，进而可能降低酗酒的发生率。需要进行更多研究以了解社会和文化资源影响对风险态度的机制。
