Funding: NIAAA P50AA005595
The Center provides resources, training, data and statistical expertise for the study of alcohol-related health, mental health and social problem disparities in the US arising from differences between racial/ethnic and socioeconomic group and sexual identity and rurality. Research projects provide insights in to the drinking of those with alcohol-related health conditions, racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in alcohol-related problems, the role of inflammation in associations between alcohol use and mental health issues, disparities in access and utilization of screening for alcohol problems, use of pharmacotherapy and treatment completion, co- use of alcohol and other drugs, and events involving high-intensity drinking and drinkers who participate in them.
Knowledge gained furthers our understanding of alcohol-related disparities and will strengthen the design, implementation and targeting of interventions to address these. The Center, building on its groundbreaking conceptual and methodological contributions for over 40 years, studies the complex interactions between drinking patterns across the life-course, demographic characteristics, sociocultural and drinking contexts, community and policy factors, and problem outcomes, both in the general population and with attention to high-risk subgroups.
Selected Studies
Alcohol-Related Disparities Among Women: Evidence and Potential Explanations
Although research on alcohol-related disparities among women is a highly understudied area, evidence shows that racial/ethnic minority women, sexual minority women, and women of low socioeconomic status (based on education, income, or residence in disadvantaged neighborhoods) are more likely to experience alcohol-related problems. These problems include alcohol use disorder, particularly after young adulthood, and certain alcohol-related health, morbidity, and mortality outcomes. To understand alcohol-related disparities among women, several factors should be considered.
Childhood Adversity Plays a Large Role in Heavy Alcohol Use
In new research that compares drinking rates across racial/ethnic groups, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) people who currently drink report more instances of high intensity drinking than other groups. However, when considering the population as a whole, and with childhood trauma and family history of problem drinking added to the model, the difference between groups disappears, suggesting that social determinants and family history may largely account for the disparities in heavy drinking among AI/AN people who drink compared to other racial/ethnic groups.
Living on the US-Mexico Border Protects Against Substance Use Mortality
People living in US counties on the US-Mexico border are less likely to die of alcohol- and drug-related consequences than people living in off-border counties. The study is the first to use data from all four US border states to examine whether people living in border counties have higher or lower rates of alcohol- and drug-related mortality compared to people living in interior counties.
Healthy Lifestyle Class Identified among White and Hispanic/Latinx People but not Among Black People
In the first study to identify clustered risk health behaviors among white, Black, and Hispanic/Latinx people, findings illustrate the need to develop tailored multi-behavioral interventions to address racial disparities in health outcomes. Risky drinking, cigarette smoking, poor diet, and physical inactivity were used to asses health harms with analysis showing a relatively healthy lifestyle class (having a relatively low prevalence of the four risk behaviors) among white participants (49%) and Hispanic/Latinx participants (22%), but not among Black participants.
Other Studies
Selected Studies
COVID-19 Study Finds More Drinking, Fewer Drinkers
Alcohol consumption patterns changed significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic when compared to the pre-pandemic period. While the proportions of the population that were drinking and drinking with a risky pattern declined, particularly among men, there was a substantial increase in the proportion of the population who drank every day and who reported symptoms of moderate to severe alcohol use disorder.
People with a lifetime alcohol use disorder (AUD) who used cannabis more frequently had 2.83 times the number of drinks and experienced 6.82 times greater odds of alcohol-related harms than abstainers. Mid-level cannabis users also had an increased number of heavy drinking episodes and greater odds of alcohol dependence, compared to people who didn’t use cannabis.
Drinking High Levels of Alcohol Increases the Chance of Developing Hypertension
A lifecourse study looks at how drinking affects health over a 30-year period and finds people who consume high-levels of alcohol may be at an increased risk of developing high blood pressure. Results showed that women who drank more than 14 drinks per week were 1.57 times more likely to develop hypertension than women who drank seven or fewer drinks per week.
Cancer Survivors Drink More after Diagnosis
Cancer survivors were more likely to report heavy drinking and more frequent heavy drinking occasions compared to others at the same ages with similar drinking histories. When racial and ethnic group-specific effects were evaluated, this increased heavy drinking was found to occur among women and White drinkers, while no increase was found among Black or Hispanic people who drank.
Other Studies
Selected Studies
Study Reveals Inequities in Alcohol Screenings, Resulting in Missed Opportunities for Treatment
Some racial and ethnic groups are not receiving adequate screening for alcohol use in clinical settings. The study looked at predictors such as gender, age, race and ethnicity, education, and insurance status, and their interaction of alcohol screening quality. Results showed that Hispanic, Black, and Other racial and ethnic respondents generally received quality alcohol screening less often than White respondents.
In the first assessment to consider the moderating effect of pre-existing parity state laws, study results showed no significant change in US alcohol treatment rates after the Federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). However, when including the local parity laws, states with coverage and partial parity (CPP) saw a significant increase in treatment admissions.
Looking at the interplay between state-level alcohol policies, binge-drinking rates, and socioeconomic status (SES) and their effect on harms caused by someone else’s drinking, study findings highlight the roles of two state-level contextual factors—binge drinking rates and socioeconomic status—in the effects of alcohol policies on alcohol harms due to others’ drinking.
Alcohol Policies are more effective for some Groups than Others
Increasing taxes on specific types of alcohol and implementing policies that reduce its availability have differing effects on specific subgroups. The study is the first to address gaps in alcohol policy research by examining how such broad-based initiatives aimed at reducing drinking and its related consequences vary across gender and racial/ethnic groups.
Stricter Policies Lower the Risk of Being Hurt by Another Drinker
In the US, adults under age forty living in states with more restrictive alcohol policies experience fewer aggression- and drink-driving-related harms from someone else’s drinking than those in states with weaker policies. Results showed that for a 10-point increase in restrictiveness of an alcohol policy scale, the odds of experiencing such secondhand harms was 16 percent lower.
Selected Studies
Neighbors Who Feel Connected to One Another Experience Far Fewer Harms from Someone Else’s Drinking
People living in neighborhoods with higher levels of social cohesion experience fewer harms from a stranger’s drinking. The study examined the ways a neighborhood’s social environment—alcohol availability, places where people drink, and social cohesion—influence the harms a person experiences from someone else’s alcohol use.
Cannabis Causes Fewer Harms to Others than Alcohol
In the first study to of cannabis’ secondhand harms found that among Washington State adults, 8.4% of respondents reported experiencing harm because of someone else’s cannabis use compared to 21.5% from alcohol use in the past 12 months. The types of harms reported included threats or harassment, vandalism, physical harm, harms related to driving, or financial or family problems.
53 Million People in the US Experience Harm Because of Someone Else’s Drinking
In an analysis of US national survey data — some 21% of women and 23% of men, an estimated 53 million adults, experienced harm because of someone else’s drinking in the last 12 months. These harms could be threats or harassment, ruined property or vandalism, physical aggression, harms related to driving, or financial or family problems. The most common harm was threats or harassment, reported by 16% of survey respondents.
Other Studies
Research Team
Impacts
Updated US Drinking Norms (2020 Data)
When data from the National Alcohol Survey (NAS) are released, our scientists update the drinking norms for the US. The most recent data from the 2020 NAS draw on the drinking patterns of individuals residing in 50 states and Washington, DC and look at the number of drinks both women and men said they consumed per week on average in the previous 12 months. As a practitioner, one way to assess your clients' drinking habits is to have them compare their current consumption level to how …[Read more]
Cannabis Causes Fewer Harms to Others than Alcohol
Cannabis Can Hurt More than Just the User but Poses Less Risk to Others than Alcohol Press Release Findings from the first-ever study of marijuana’s secondhand harms show that fewer harms were attributed to someone else’s cannabis use than from secondhand drinking. The new research from the Alcohol Research Group, a program of the Public Health Institute, and RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, was conducted using 2014 to 2016 data from Washington State where recreat…[Read more]
Connected Neighbors Experience far Fewer Harms from Someone Else’s Drinking
Neighbors Who Feel Connected to One Another Experience far Fewer Harms from Someone Else’s Alcohol Use Press Release People living in neighborhoods with higher levels of social cohesion experience fewer harms from a stranger's drinking, according to a new study from the Alcohol Research Group (ARG), a program of the Public Health Institute. Published today in Alcohol and Alcoholism, the study examined the ways a neighborhood's social environment—alcohol availability, places where…[Read more]
Binge Drinking Rates Mediate the Effects of Alcohol Policies
State Binge Drinking Rates Mediate the Effects of Alcohol Policies and State Living Standards, a New Study on Alcohol’s Harms to Others Finds Emeryville, CA (August 13, 2020) – A new study looks at the interplay between state-level alcohol policies, binge-drinking rates, and socioeconomic status(SES) and their effect on harms caused by someone else’s drinking. The study from the Alcohol Research Group (ARG), a program of the Public Health Institute, highlights the roles of two state…[Read more]
Alcohol Policies Are More Effective for Some Groups than Others
Increasing taxes on specific types of alcohol and implementing policies that reduce its availability have differing effects on specific subgroups according to a new study from ARG biostatistician Meenakshi Sabina Subbaraman and colleagues. The study, published in Addiction, is the first to address gaps in alcohol policy research by examining how such broad-based initiatives aimed at reducing drinking and its related consequences vary across sex and racial/ethnic groups. Results show…[Read more]
Moderate Drinkers are at a High Risk of Alcohol-Related Injuries
New study finds significant differences in alcohol-related harms among racial/ethnic groups Emeryville, CA (June 10, 2020) – Moderate drinkers are not immune from being injured, a new study from senior scientist Cheryl Cherpitel and colleagues found. Results showed that injury risk increased at low levels of exposure, measured by number of hours of having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 or higher, and that this risk was greatest for white drinkers compared to black and Hispanic …[Read more]
Healthy Lifestyle Class Identified Among Whites and Hispanics but not Among Blacks
A new study looks at clustered risk behaviors across racial/ethnic groups In the first study to identify clustered risk health behaviors among whites, Blacks, and Hispanics, ARG Scientist Won Kim Cook and colleagues illustrate the need to develop tailored multi-behavioral interventions to address racial disparities in health outcomes. The research team focused on the “big four” risk behaviors that contribute to chronic conditions and morbidity: risky drinking, cigarette smoking, …[Read more]
15-year Trends of Harms from Other Drinkers
ARG researchers Thomas K. Greenfield, Katherine Karriker-Jaffe, Lauren Kaplan and William C. Kerr along with Sharon C. Wilsnack of the University of North Dakota recently published work that assessed data from four National Alcohol Surveys to look at depression and alcohol's harms to others (AHTO) such as difficulties with family, finances, assault and vandalism. Study authors found a significant upward trend from 2000 to 2015 for financial troubles from others drinkers. In 2015, depression …[Read more]
Additions to the National Alcohol Survey Reflect Societal Shifts
Since the National Alcohol Survey (NAS) first launched in 1964, ARG researchers have sought to increase its impact by developing a more robust and relevant tool with which to look at the nation’s alcohol consumption. At the same time, the survey has evolved to reflect changes in our society, our population, and how we communicate with each other. Over the years, a substantial number of NAS-affiliated independent grants have used NAS and additional data to focus on nationally-salient eme…[Read more]
Alcohol causes significant harm to those other than the drinker
Each year, one in five U.S. adults -- an estimated 53 million people -- experience harm because of someone else’s drinking, according to new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Similar to how policymakers have addressed the effects of secondhand smoke over the last two decades, society needs to combat the secondhand effects of drinking, the authors state, calling alcohol’s harm to others “a significant public health issue.” According to the study -- an analys…[Read more]
Cancer Survivors Drink More After Diagnosis
Cancer survivors were more likely to report heavy drinking and more frequent heavy drinking occasions compared to others at the same ages with similar drinking histories, according to a new study from the Alcohol Research Group, a program of the Public Health Institute. Heavy drinking was defined as having five or more drinks at any one time. When racial and ethnic group-specific effects were evaluated, this increased heavy drinking was found to occur among women and Whites, while no increase…[Read more]
Over 40 Years & Still Going Strong
When the National Alcohol Survey (NAS) first began in the mid-1960s, over 2500 people across the US were interviewed. Since then, the NAS has grown to include almost 8,000 US adults enabling both understanding the mechanisms underlying drinking behaviors and the long-term monitoring of our nation’s drinking patterns and its associated problems. While our drinking habits and relationship to alcohol have changed, measuring such changes provides a greater understanding of how alcohol impacts …[Read more]
