THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ETHNICITY, GENDER AND ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION - A STRATEGY FOR TESTING COMPETING MODELS

Aim. This study, tested mediator, moderator and main effects models to determine the pattern of relationships between ethnicity, gender, tem perament, and alcohol use. Design. A large-scale survey was employed. Respondents were interviewed in their homes. Participants were 523 Pue rto Rican and 490 Irish American adults residing in the New York metro politan area. Measures. Quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption were assessed with standard measures, and recent drinking problems wit h the substance abuse module of the Composite International Diagnostic Instrument. Findings. Rather than supporting a complex, nested model, the findings supported a main effects model and indicated that each o f the three predictors teas related to one or more drinking measure. W hile gender strongly influenced each drinking behavior, ethnicity only influenced frequency, and temperament only influenced recent drinking problems. Conclusions. The results support previous studies indicatin g consistent male-female drinking differences while highlighting a sta tistical strategy for comparing competing models of ethnic drinking be havior.