Denise Herd

Drinking by Black and White Women: Results from a National Survey

This paper explores whether differences in rates of abstaining and heavier drinking in black and white women can be attributed primarily to differences in socio-economic or marital status. Data for the analysis are based on personal interviews with national probability samples of 1,224 black and 1,034 white women in the United States. The descriptive findings show that blacks are more likely to be abstainers and less likely to be heavier drinkers than whites and that there are major black-white differences in abstention and heavier drinking according to age, marital status, and employment status. A log-linear analysis indicates that race, independent of other social factors, is the strongest predictor of being a drinker versus an abstainer and of being a heavier drinker. Among whites, being single, employed, and of high income status are significant determinants of drinking versus abstaining; age (youthfulness) is the only variable needed to account for heavier drinking. In the black female sample, youthfulness, employment, and the interaction of employment and income predict drinking; while the interaction between marital status, age, and employment status is necessary to explain heavier drinking. The differences in black-white causal models illustrate the need to adopt a bi-cultural perspective to understand black womens drinking behavior.

Changing images of violence in Rap music lyrics: 1979–1997

Rap music has been at the center of concern about the potential harmful effects of violent media on youth social behavior. This article explores the role of changing images of violence in rap music lyrics from the 1970s to the 1990s. The results indicate that there has been a dramatic and sustained increase in the level of violence in rap music. The percentage of songs mentioning violence increased from 27 per cent during 1979–1984 to 60 per cent during 1994–1997. In addition, portrayals of violence in later songs are viewed in a more positive light as shown by their increased association with glamor, wealth, masculinity, and personal prowess. Additional analyses revealed that genre, specifically gangster rap, is the most powerful predictor of the increased number of violent references in songs. The discussion suggests that violence in rap music has increased in response to the complex interplay of changing social conditions such as the elevated levels of youth violence in the 1980s and changing commercial practices within the music industry.

Racial differences in women's drinking norms and drinking patterns: A national study

This study explored whether norms regarding womens drinking were more or less liberal among African American than among Caucasian women, and whether female-specific drinking norms influence drinking rates and drinking problems among the two groups of women. The study is based on data from a 1984 national survey of subsamples of 1,224 African American and 1,034 Caucasian women. Logistic and multiple regression analyses showed that African Americans reported more conservative drinking norms for women than Caucasians even when controlling for general drinking norms and social characteristics. Other findings were that female-specific drinking norms affect the proportion of women drinkers, usual quantity of alcohol consumption, and symptoms of alcohol dependence. African American and Caucasian women were not found to differ in the effect of female-specific drinking norms on alcohol use or on alcohol-related problems. Future research should explore differences in cultural factors that may affect attitudes towards womens drinking as well as more detailed aspects of the relationship between womens drinking norms and problem drinking.

The Influence of Religious Affiliation on Sociocultural Predictors of Drinking among Black and White Americans

Although religious denominations have been shown to affect the drinking behavior of their members, few studies have examined this topic among Black Americans. The following study explored whether a model predicting drinking from religious denominations through a series of intervening cognitive and social variables (drinking attitudes and norms, social contexts, social networks, and home use of alcohol) would be the same for Blacks and Whites. The results showed that there are a number of racial differences in how religious background influences intervening social characteristics, but few in the predictors of drinking behavior. Many significant racial differences were observed among Baptists, a moderate number among Catholics, and few or none were observed for Conservative Protestants and Methodists.

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 socio-political characteristics than from norms associated with class affiliations in the larger society.

Changes in drug use prevalence in rap music songs, 1979–1997

This article explores the role of changing images of drug use in rap music from the 1970s to the 1990s. A sample of 341 rap music lyrics were coded for drug mentions, behaviours and contexts; drug attitudes and consequences; and music genres. The results show that from 1979–1997, songs with references to drugs increased over 6-fold; those exhibiting positive attitudes and consequences rose substantially and that references to particular drug types changed significantly. In addition, there were significant changes in the social context of drug use such as increased references to using drugs to signify glamour, wealth and sociability. The article examines potential explanations of the increasing focus on drug use rap music which includes the rise of the drug war; changes in the drug use habits of rappers and listeners; rise of gangsta rap and other rap music genres, and changing social images of drugs in American society.

Correlates of heavy drinking and alcohol related problems among men and women in drug treatment programs

A series of analyses were conducted to explore if there were significant differences in heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems in clients admitted to different types of drug treatment programs and whether such differences, if found, could be attributed to variation in social characteristics, drug use behavior, drinking norms, drinking contexts, or in reasons for combining alcohol and drug use. Men and women (N = 246) in four types of publicly funded treatment programs were interviewed at intake regarding drinking and drug use patterns and related problems. The results of the study showed significant differences in drinking behavior and alcohol-related problems of clients in different treatment modalities. Men in a county jail substance abuse program exhibited the highest frequency of heavy drinking and highest rates of alcohol problems; clients of methadone programs reported the lowest rates and those in therapeutic communities described intermediate rates. A series of regression analyses showed that the only significant predictors of the frequency of heavier drinking and drunkenness were drinking context and reasons for combining alcohol and drug use. In addition, age (youthfulness) was associated with the frequency of getting drunk. The most powerful predictors of alcohol-related problems were the frequency of getting drunk and drinking to enhance the effects of other drugs. Heavy drinking and drinking to prevent getting sick from drugs were also significantly associated with drinking problems. The frequency of drug use (by specific type) and most social characteristics showed no direct association with drinking patterns or problems.

Voices from the field: The social construction of alcohol problems in inner-city communities

This study examines the social construction of alcohol problems by activists involved in alcohol policy campaigns in inner-city neighborhoods in the 1990s. Nearly 200 informants were interviewed and asked to describe why they thought local neighborhoods mobilized around alcohol policy issues. In contrast with other social movements that have emphasized individual alcohol problem or addiction experiences, informants in this study focused on the role of alcohol outlets and sales and marketing in contributing to various forms of social disorder, such as crime, violence, illicit drug use, public intoxication, and nuisances that were engulfing their neighborhoods. These themes were interpreted in light of the social conditions faced by inner-city residents in the 1980s and 1990s, including the crack cocaine epidemic, the spectacular rise in youth violence, aggressive new alcoholic beverage marketing campaigns, and the increasing rates of poverty in dilapidated urban centers.

An Analysis of Alcohol-Related Problems in Black and White Women Drinkers

This study examined prevalence rates and predictors of alcohol-related problems in samples of 635 black and 665 white women drinkers. The analysis showed that although black and white women exhibited very similar rates of alcohol-related problems, heavier drinking and drunkenness, they differed significantly on most social characteristics and in normative attitudes towards alcohol use.A series of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that black women were significantly less likely to experience alcohol related problems when drinking behavior, norms and social characteristics were taken into account. Further analysis showed that there was also a significant and negative interaction with race and the frequency of heavier drinking. This finding indicated that increases in heavier drinking were less likely to result in negative consequences among black women than among white women.These results differ from the findings of previous research showing that black women experience higher rates of alcohol-relate...

Changes in the prevalence of alcohol in rap music lyrics 1979-2009

This study examines the prevalence and context of alcohol references in rap music lyrics from 1979 through 2009. Four hundred nine top-ranked rap music songs released were sampled from Billboard magazine rating charts. Songs were analyzed using systematic content analysis and were coded for alcohol beverage types and brand names, drinking behaviors, drinking contexts, attitudes towards alcohol, and consequences of drinking. Trends were analyzed using regression analyses. The results of the study reveal significant increases in the presence of alcohol in rap songs; a decline in negative attitudes towards alcohol; decreases in consequences attributed to alcohol; increases in the association of alcohol with glamour and wealth, drugs, and nightclubs; and increases in references to liquor and champagne.