Ethnic identity, religiousness, and drinking among African Americans: what's the connection?

This study tested a theoretical model explaining how ethnic identity and religiousness might be related to alcohol use among African Americans. One hundred seventy-three African American undergraduates at a large, public, Southeastern historically black university completed the study. Findings indicate that although religiousness accounted for 31% of the relationship between ethnic identity and alcohol use, whether mediation existed depended on which dimensions of ethnic identity, religiousness, and alcohol use were examined.

Physician and staff perceptions of barriers to colorectal cancer screening in Appalachian Kentucky.

Background: Data indicate that in 1997 to 1999, only 44% of Appalachian Kentuckians underwent colorectal cancer screening consistent with guidelines. We investigated the reasons for, barriers to, and follow-up of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening recommendations in primary care practices seeing patients from Appalachian Kentucky.

Methods: A mixed-methods [qualitative (focus group) and quantitative (survey)] approach was used to gather and analyze data in five primary care practices.

The relationship between perceptions of neighborhood characteristics and substance use among urban African American adolescents.

Although the neighborhood microsystem is recognized as an important domain for adolescent development, relative to the family and peer contexts, neighborhood factors have been understudied in relation to adolescent substance abuse. In addition, recent research suggests that risk factors for adolescent substance use may differ for African Americans when compared to Caucasian youth. This study investigated the association between perceived neighborhood disorganization and later substance use, as well as possible mediators of that association, among a community sample of urban African American adolescents.