Study Counters Stereotypes About Native Americans and Alcohol
and both groups have similar rates of heavy and binge
drinking, University of Arizona researchers found.
The study authors analyzed responses from more than
4,000 Native Americans and 170,000 white Americans who
took part in a federal government survey between 2009 and
2013.
Sixty percent of Native Americans said they drank no alcohol
in the past month, compared with 43 percent of whites. In
both groups, 17 percent were binge drinkers and 8 percent
were heavy drinkers.
Binge drinking was defined as having five or more drinks at
one sitting on one to four days in the past month. Heavy
drinking was having five or more drinks on five or more days
in the past month, the study noted.
The study was published online recently in the journal Drug
and Alcohol Dependence .
"Of course, debunking a stereotype doesn't mean that alcohol
problems don't exist. All major U.S. racial and ethnic groups
face problems due to alcohol abuse, and alcohol use within
those groups can vary with geographic location, age and
gender," lead author James Cunningham said in a university
news release.
"But falsely stereotyping a group regarding alcohol can have
its own unique consequences," said Cunningham, a social
epidemiologist with the university's department of family and
community medicine and its Native American Research and
Training Center.
"For example," he explained, "some employers might be
reluctant to hire individuals from a group that has been
stereotyped regarding alcohol. Patients from such a group,
possibly wanting to avoid embarrassment, may be reluctant to
discuss alcohol-related problems with their doctors."
Study co-author Teshia Solomon, director of the center,
pointed out that while alcohol use among Native Americans is
comparable to that of whites, that doesn't mean they have
similar rates of alcohol-related health problems.
"Native Americans as a group have less access to medical
care, safe housing and quality food, which can amplify health
problems connected to alcohol," she said.
In addition, study co-author Dr. Myra Muramoto, head of
family and community medicine, said that negative stereotyping
of people who have less access to care creates even more
health disparities.
"Based on a false negative stereotype, some health care
providers may inaccurately attribute a presenting health
problem to alcohol use and fail to appropriately diagnose and
treat the problem," Muramoto said in the news release.
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