Loosening the Grip: A Handbook of Alcohol Information

by Jean Kinney

Demographic Influences on Alcohol Use No single factor predicts either alcohol use or the potential problems that may emerge. Drawing on the public health model, Loosening the Grip considers the interplay of the multiple significant factors that need to be considered. It reviews the effects of the drug, alcohol, which invite its use. It examines individual characteristics, drawing on our rapidly growing understanding of genetic influences alongside demographic characteristics, be it age, gender, minority status whether based on race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, being economically advantaged or disadvantaged, religious affiliation, education, and regional differences. Equal attention is directed to the family, the neighborhood, and the immediate community, as well as to larger cultural and social influences. This becomes the basis for later discussion of prevention, treatment, and policy, as well as comparing and contrasting alcohol and other drugs of abuse.