Alcohol misuse in young adulthood: Effects of race, educational attainment, and social context

We analyzed survey data collected from 1,582 African-American and White you ng adults to determine 1) whether the relationship between educational atta inment and alcohol misuse would vary by race, and 2) what social and psycho logical factors might explain the differential effects of educational attai nment on alcohol misuse. Low educational attainment was positively associat ed with alcohol misuse among African-American young adults, while high educ ational attainment was positively associated with alcohol misuse among Whit es. Selected social and psychological factors (e.g., unemployment, emotiona l distress) did not explain the differential effect of low educational atta inment of alcohol misuse, but college status and attitudes favorable toward alcohol use accounted for racial differences in the effect of high educati onal attainment on alcohol misuse. This study may help to explain why dispr oportionately higher rates of alcohol-related health and social problems ha ve been observed in the African-American adult population, but additional r esearch is needed to better understand the long-term and differential effec ts of educational attainment on alcohol misuse.