Black drinking practices in Northern California

The data for this research come from three independent community surveys conducted between 1979 and 1980 in the San Francisco Bay Area. All surveys followed the same sampling plan and only probability techniques were employed. Of a total of 4,150 adult respondents, 1,206 identified themselves as Blacks and are analyzed in this report. A total of 29% of the females and 16% of the males are abstainers. Frequent heavier drinkers comprise 22% of the males but only 6% of the females. Among males, heavier drinking and alcohol problems are highest among those in their thirties and, therefore, cannot be associated with a youthful lifestyle as it happens in the United States general population. Characteristics such as income, employment status, and education are not associated with drinking. Religion, however, is associated with drinking patterns, and Fundamentalists have significantly more abstainers and light drinkers than other religious groups. These findings are also discussed in the light of Black culture and minority status. It is suggested that drinking patterns among Blacks are influenced more by internal norms originated from common cultural and sociopolitical characteristics than from norms associated with class affiliations in the larger society.