Beliefs of older African-American women about alcohol use and abuse.

Abstract

This dissertation explored the Belief Systems and the attitudes held by older African American women regarding alcohol and the influence of drinking status, religious affiliation, and religiosity on those beliefs. Alcohol misuse is second only to prescription drug misuse among African American older adults (Jackson, 1986). Despite this reality relatively few older African American women are seen in centers for alcohol treatment. Increasing our knowledge of attitudes about alcohol held by older African American women may assist in the development of mechanisms to decrease barriers to utilization of treatment services. The belief systems regarding alcohol were surveyed in a sample of 184 older African American women involved in three programs administered by Catholic Social Services of Wayne County. The results indicated that higher education was associated with a decrease in the perceived stigma associated with drinking by both males and females. Drinking status significantly influenced attitudes regarding acceptable levels of consumption within all age and gender groups: Drinkers with no identified problems were the most likely to feel that others should not drink, while drinkers with problems were most likely to believe that higher levels of alcohol consumption are acceptable. Religion had a significant association with the practice of keeping alcohol at home as well as being a reason for abstaining from use. Religiosity was significantly associated with the practice of alcohol being used as medicine while growing up: Those who were very religious were less likely than the not very religious to report that they adhered to this practice. The relationship between religion and religiosity and attitudes and behaviors related to alcohol suggest that the church could be used as a vehicle for the dissemination of educational information about alcohol use and possible treatment options.