Addictive behaviors and depression among African Americans residing in a public housing community

Numerous studies have indicated that there is an association between cigare tte smoking, alcohol use, and depression However, little attention has been devoted to understanding how demographic factors, such as socioeconomic st atus and ethnicity, influence these relationships. To address this gap in t he literature, cigarette and alcohol use were examined in a sample of Afric an Americans from an urban area. A single public-housing community in Washi ngton, DC was selected for complete ascertainment of the adult population. A total of 126 African American subjects were recruited. Semi-structured in terviews were conducted to assess depressive symptoms and to characterize c igarette and alcohol use patterns. Cigarette smoking was not related to the severity of depressive symptoms. By contrast, increased symptoms of depres sion were related to alcohol use patterns. Light drinkers had a mean score of 5.77 on the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, compared to a mean of 8.30 for abstainers and 10.07 for heavy drinkers (F = 4.968, p < .003). An analysis of patterns of substance use revealed that subjects were more likely to either abstain from both substances (30.2%) or to use b oth substances (32.5%) (chi(2) = 8.516, df = 1, p < .004). It is unclear wh ich specific processes work to link alcohol use and depressive symptoms in this group of urban African Americans from a low-income community. What is clear is that alcohol use is dearly related to depressive symptoms in the s ample. It is hypothesized that both self-medicating processes and substance -induced depressive symptoms may be responsible for these findings. Importa nt factors to consider in developing effective intervention programs that t arget this specific population are discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd .