Though alcohol consumption and the choice to risk the negative effects of excessive drinking lie with the individual, some researchers have found that an individual's ethnicity is a marker of how much they are prone to binge drink.
A recent study, using newly acquired data and data from an older study, concluded that African Americans are more likely to binge drink than any other ethnicity; based on the observations of UB students and the findings of a previous study, this study may not hold entirely true for the black community.
"If you look around, you see mostly white kids going to bars and drinking tons of beer," said Bernard Lubin, a sophomore physical therapy major. "Personally, I've never seen a black person binge drink."
The study, published in the latest issue of Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research magazine and performed by Dr. Christopher T. Sempos, professor of social and preventative medicine, was composed of 768 men and 1,286 women between the ages of 25 and 75. The men and women were participants in the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted between 1971 and 1975.
"We've done a number of studies looking at the relationship of alcohol intake and death from any causes published several years ago, looking at average intake of alcohol and mortality," said Sempos.
"The analysis looked at average weekly intake," he said, "and having average weekly intake doesn't necessarily tell you whether the person has a moderate consistent consumption pattern or whether they tend to drink their average on one or two days a week."
University-aged students were not included in this study because Sempos and his researchers used a pre-existing study put out by the government, and because young people have a lower mortality rate, the researcher said.
Sempos - along with his research team composed of: Dr. Tiejian Wu; associate professor of social and preventative medicine Carlos Crespo; interim dean of health related professions Dr. Maurizio Trevisan; and Dr. J??rgen Rehm of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto - used preexisting research and followed up on the participants.
The group found that black men and women were the most likely of all ethnic groups included in the study to have the largest portion of binge drinkers, as well as people who abstain from alcohol consumption.
Many members of UB's black student population said they do not identify with the findings of this study, based on what they see among their peers and their own practices.
"I have a lot of friends who drink, but it's never excessive drinking, they know their limitations," said Jamil Crews, a senior double majoring in music business and African American studies, and the vice president for the Hip Hop Student Association.
"It's not just because my friends don't do it. You just don't see too many African Americans, or minorities in general, consuming large amounts of alcohol," he continued. "We are aware of the consequences that stem from alcohol consumption. Not saying that other people aren't, but I feel that the consequences are worse for people of color."
While Sempos' study highlighted black mortality due to the effects of excessive alcohol consumption, research conducted between 1989 and 1995 by UB professor of sociology Michael Farrell found black youths to be the least likely of all ethnicities to participate in binge drinking.
Unlike Sempos' study, Farrell's six-year study explored theories in the behaviors of adolescents. Within this study Farrell compared the drinking habits of 210 black youths with 450 white youths.
"We did a longitudinal study in the first half of the 1990s of drug and alcohol use in metropolitan Buffalo," said Farrell. "White Americans reported a higher occurrence of alcohol and drug use."
Though Farrell's research opposes Sempos' findings, there is one point both researchers agree on - that socio-economic factors play a role in drinking patterns.
"African American youth tend to have lower self-reports of binge drinking and higher in the number of people who abstain," said Farrell. "This is a partially cultural, religious thing, as well as an economic thing. Kids in the suburbs have money to buy drugs and alcohol, kids living in an urban society don't."
Trevisan, a researcher from the new study, said cultural and economic status contributes largely to drinking behaviors.
"There are behavioral patterns that categorize ethnic groups," said Trevisan. "For instance, Italians drink a lot of wine; they don't drink much beer. Germans, we drink a lot of beer. There are behavioral changes that characterize, in broad terms, ethnic groups. And I think African Americans just have these kinds of attitudes of alcohol use."
"Those differences of alcohol use with socio-economic statuses (occur) in all ethnic groups, poor people especially ... whether or not they're blacks or whites or Italians or Germans," said Trevisan.
According to Grace Barnes, a senior research scientist of the Research Institute of Addiction, blacks are more likely to experience the negative effects of drinking.
"Researchers have found that African Americans, when they do drink, are most likely to have problems like cirrhosis of the liver," she said.
Some students not of black descent who have friends of all backgrounds said they have not noticed a difference in drinking patterns between ethnicities.
"From hanging out with my friends, I find that although there is the occasional time when overdrinking occurs, it's definitely not more frequent with African Americans," said Johanna Caplan, a sophomore psychology major. "I can't say for sure how accurate that is, considering a few of my African American friends don't drink. I honestly don't think there is a racial difference, though."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
