Sociocultural Backgrounds of Alcoholism

Abstract

Physiological and psychological interpretations of the causes of al coholism have been found insufficient to explain differences in rates of alcohol ism among various groups. Consequently, examination of the sociocultural backgrounds of drinking is needed to isolate those factors associated with high or low rates of alcoholism. One such finding is that, compared with members of low alcoholism groups, members of high alcoholism groups have conflicting attitudes toward drinking; the conflict is caused by the lack of integration of drinking customs with the rest of the culture. This finding is shown to be con sistent with ethnic and sex differences in rates of alcoholism.

Cultural Competence for Evaluators: A Guide for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention Practitioners Working with Ethnic/Racial Communities

“…This may account for a significantly lower prevalence rate of alcohol use among Asian Americans when compared with Whites. Likewise, many studies, perhaps starting with Ullman (1958), argue that uncertainties and mixed messages in the culture regarding alcohol use produce ambivalent feelings within individuals about drinking and that these feelings increase the probability of problems once an individual begins to drink (Peele 1987;Room 1976).…”

A Public Health Approach to the Prevention of Alcohol-Related Health Problems

“…Major wine producing-countries, such as France, were held up as positive models of societies in which integration of alcohol use had prevented the development of alcoholism (174).…”

Norms and attitudes related to alcohol usage and driving: A review of the relevant literature: Volume I: A review of the literature

“…The earlier of the two, which has been called the sociocultural model (Frankel and Whitehead, 1979), is based on drinking attitudes and practices viewed from a cross-national perspective. The model is based on the assertion that societies which are explicit and coherent with regard to values, customs, sanctions, and public attitudes toward alcohol consumption will have low rates of alcoholism (Ullman, 1958). *Additional information and models are described in the works of Clare (1974), Cahalan and Cisin (1977), and Ewing and Rouse (1978).…”