Neighborhood Context and Binge Drinking by Race and Ethnicity in New York City

BACKGROUND:

Neighborhood context is associated with binge drinking and has significant health, societal, and economic costs. Both binge drinking and neighborhood context vary by race and ethnicity. We examined the relations between neighborhood characteristics-neighborhood norms that are accepting of drunkenness, collective efficacy, and physical disorder-and binge drinking, with a focus on examining race and ethnic-specific relationships.

METHODS:

Respondent data were collected through 2005 random digit-dial-telephone survey for a representative sample of New York City residents; neighborhood data were based on the 2005 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey. Participants were 1,415 past-year drinkers; Whites (n = 877), Blacks (n = 292), and Hispanics (n = 246). Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate population average models.

RESULTS:

For the overall sample, neighborhood norms that were more accepting of drunkenness were associated with greater binge drinking; collective efficacy and physical disorder were not significant. However, when examining this by race/ethnicity, greater collective efficacy and greater physical disorder were associated with less binge drinking for Whites only. Neighborhood norms that were more accepting of drunkenness were associated with binge drinking among Whites and, while not significant (perhaps due to power), the associations were similar for Hispanics and slightly lower for Blacks.

CONCLUSIONS:

Overall, results suggest that neighborhood characteristics and binge drinking are shaped, in part, by factors that vary across race/ethnicity. Thus, disaggregating data by race/ethnicity is important in understanding binge drinking behaviors.

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By:  Chauhan P1, Ahern J2, Galea S3, Keyes KM4.

• 1Department of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, New York.
• 2Department of Epidemiology , University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California.
• 3School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
• 4Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, New York. 
• Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2016 Apr;40(4):785-93. doi: 10.1111/acer.13011. Epub 2016 Mar 10.

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