HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2006.100727v1 AJPH.2006.100727v2 98/6/1107    most recent Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Broman, C. L. Articles by Jackson, J. S. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Broman, C. L. Articles by Jackson, J. S.

Clifford L. Broman, PhD, Harold W. Neighbors, PhD, Jorge Delva, PhD, Myriam Torres, MS and James S. Jackson, PhD

Clifford L. Broman is with the Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, East Lansing. Harold W. Neighbors is with the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Jorge Delva is with the School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Myriam Torres is with the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. James S. Jackson is with the Institute for Social Research and the Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Clifford L. Broman, Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1111 (e-mail: broman{at}msu.edu).

Objectives. We sought to estimate the prevalence of substance disorders for African Americans and Caribbean Blacks in the United States using data from the National Survey of American Life.

Methods. A national household probability sample of noninstitutionalized African Americans (n=3570) and Caribbean Blacks (n=1621) was obtained between February 2001 and June 2003 using a slightly modified version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview.

Results. Overall differences in prevalence of substance disorders between the ethnic groups were not significant. Prevalence rates of substance disorders among African Americans exceeded that of Caribbean Blacks among women, those aged 45 to 59 years, and those who were divorced. African Americans in major metropolitan areas had higher prevalence rates, and those in the South had lower ones, compared with those living in other areas. Overall, first-generation Caribbean Blacks were significantly less likely, but second-generation more likely, than were African Americans to meet criteria for overall substance disorders.

Conclusions. Failure to distinguish between African Americans and Caribbean Blacks masks important differences in substance use patterns among the Black population in the United States.