Alcohol and Blacks: Survey of the Periodical Literature

The purpose of this study was to assess the state of the periodical literature on alcohol and Blacks. Three major professional indexes were used in the literature search. Although 16,000 alcohol‐related studies were reported in scientific journals over the last 30 years, only 77 dealt with Blacks. Non‐scientific articles were also scarce. Articles were categorized by topic and sample description. Drinking patterns and behavior appeared most frequently, while no articles involved alcohol education and prevention. Few studies dealt with Blacks, exclusively, and no studies were found on Black youth. A criticism of the literature was that many of the studies on alcohol and Blacks were limited in terms of theoretical background and research methodology. Some recommendations are offered.