In a world filled with temptations, high school teens are
particularly vulnerable. But black teens may succumb to at least
one temptation disproportionately less often than their white or
Hispanic counterparts. Aggregated Gallup Youth Survey findings from
1999 to 2001* reveal that just 8% of black teens say they ever
drink alcoholic beverages, as opposed to 25% of white teens and 19%
of Hispanic teens.
Nor are black teens simply more likely to choose another popular
drug, marijuana, instead. Reported marijuana use is also
considerably lower for black teens (13%) than for white (21%) or
Hispanic teens (26%)**.
As might be expected, the alcohol consumption trend is similar
among adults. Forty-eight percent of black adults say they drink
alcohol, compared to 65% of whites, a 17-point gap equal to that
found among teens***.
High Levels of Religiosity
Assuming black teens aren't significantly less likely than white
or Hispanic teens to admit their alcohol consumption, a number of
theoretical factors are plausible. One, however, stands out -- the
level of religiosity among both black teens and black adults
exceeds that of any other race or ethnicity. Historically, the
church is the heart and soul of the black community, as reflected
in church attendance figures among African Americans. In fact, on
the nine questions in Gallup's Congregational Engagement survey
that measure the extent to which faith permeates an individual's
life, blacks score considerably higher than either whites or
Hispanics. Resulting data indicate that 27% of blacks are
spiritually committed, compared to 16% of whites and 11% of
Hispanics^ (see "Spiritual Commitment, by the Numbers" in Related
Items).
According to Dr. Byron R. Johnson, director of the Center for
Research in Religion and Urban Civil Society (CRRUCS) at the
University of Pennsylvania, numerous studies support these
observations. A 2002 CRRUCS report, Objective Hope, reviews
150 recent studies examining the relationship between religiosity
and drug or alcohol use. "The vast majority of these studies
demonstrate that participation in religious activities is
associated with less of a tendency to use or abuse drugs or
alcohol," said Johnson. "These findings hold regardless of the
population under study or whether the research was conducted
prospectively or retrospectively. The greater a person's religious
involvement, the less likely he or she will initiate alcohol or
drug use or have problems with these substances if they are
used."
More Conservative Than Might Be Expected
Increased religiosity among black adults is often accompanied by
a conservative moral framework that may provide a failsafe when it
comes to alcohol consumption. Gallup analyses have shown that
blacks are almost as likely to self-identify as "conservative" as
are whites and are not significantly more likely to identify as
"liberal." When asked about social issues in general, blacks and
whites are statistically identical in their views. However, blacks'
positions on key social issues are not uniform, but tend to vary on
a case-by-case basis. For example, they are more liberal than
whites on issues such as the death penalty, more conservative on
homosexuality and gun laws, and about as conservative as whites on
abortion questions.
Lower Income Bracket
Wholly apart from spirituality and ideology, one practical
factor that may curb black drinking among teens and adults alike is
income; black teens may simply have access to less pocket money on
average with which to buy alcohol. According to the 2001 Census
median income figures, black households earn an average of $29,500
annually, compared to $46,300 for white households. Among the
overall adult population, stated alcohol consumption does indeed
drop with income level. Most notably, 69% of adults who make
between $30,000 and $49,999 annually say they drink, compared to
about 50% of those who make less than $30,000.
Key Points
Teens are often maligned as a group, and black teens in
particular tend to be subjected to negative stereotypes. But Gallup
data suggest that black teens may resist peer pressure and use
drugs and alcohol at a much lower rate than do white or Hispanic
teens. It's equally important to note that high levels of
religiosity in the black community may lead to lower levels among
the issues that affect high school teens in large numbers: suicide,
depression, sexual behaviors and delinquency.
*Findings for teens are based on Gallup Youth Survey aggregated
data from telephone interviews with 1,503 teen-agers, aged 13 to
17, conducted in October 1999, October 2000, and in May 2001.
**Findings are based on Gallup Youth Survey aggregated data from
telephone interviews with 1,003 teen-agers, aged 13 to 17,
conducted in October 1999 and May 2001.
***Findings are based on 2,042 aggregated interviews from July
19-22 2001, and July 9-11 2002, Gallup Polls.
^Findings are based on telephone interviews with 729 adults
members of a church, synagogue, or other religious faith community
aged 18 and older, conducted October through November 2001.
