Under-Researched Demographics: Heavy Episodic Drinking and Alcohol-Related Problems Among Asian Americans.

Under-Researched Demographics: Heavy Episodic Drinking and Alcohol-Related Problems Among Asian Americans. Alcohol Res. 2016 Apr;38(1):17-25 Authors: Iwamoto DK, Kaya A, Grivel M, Clinton L Abstract Historically, Asian Americans have reported lower rates of alcohol misuse compared with other racial/ethnic groups (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 2009; Wechsler et al. 2000). However, epidemiological data illustrates that heavy episodic drinking and alcohol abuse are significant and increasing among U.S.-born Asian-American young adults ages 18-25 (Grant et al. 2004). Within one decade alone, the prevalence of alcohol abuse increased fivefold among Asian Americans, from 0.74 percent in 1991-1992 to 3.89 percent in 2001-2002 (Grant et al. 2004). Moreover, recent studies have identified high-risk subgroups of Asian-American young adults who engage in higher rates of heavy episodic drinking compared with their Asian-American peers (Iwamoto et al. 2010). Additionally, some U.S.-born Asian-American ethnic subgroups may engage in heavy episodic drinking at comparable rates to high-risk groups (e.g., college fraternity members) in the general population (Iwamoto et al. 2011 b). Despite this growing concern, Asian Americans are perceived as a low-risk group with respect to alcohol problems, partially because of the "model minority" myth and the stereotype of Asian Americans generally being well assimilated to U.S. cult...
Source: Alcohol Research - Category: Addiction Tags: Alcohol Res Source Type: research