Alcohol use of African Americans and Whites from ages 9-20: descriptive results from a longitudinal study.

African American and White youth (N = 405) were assessed annually for 8 years, providing alcohol use data spanning from ages 9-20 years. Alcohol use increased with age, as did binge drinking, drunkenness, peer alcohol use, and ease of obtaining alcohol. At younger ages, the usual alcoholic drink was wine; other drinks were preferred at older ages. Fewer African Americans than Whites reported alcohol use, binge drinking, drunkenness, peer alcohol use, and encouragement of alcohol. These results support and extend previous findings and suggest that contextual influences may help explain alcohol use differences and similarities between African American and White youth.