The proposed research is an exploratory investigation of the interrelationship between psychological distress and alcohol/drug use across Black, White, and American Indian ethnic groups. Five components will be examined: (1) The amount and frequency of alcohol/drug use across ethnic groups. (2) The role of acculturation and/or ethnic identity in psychological distress and alcohol/drug use. This would also involve specific ways of coping in stressful situations. (3) The role of socieconomic status in psychological distress and alcohol/drug use. (4) The differences in cognitive style between ethnic groups. (5) The reliability of psychological measures within and across ethnic groups. The proposed study employs multiple measures of psychological distress in the context of a confirmatory hierarchial model of distress. Previous research has demonstrated this hierarchical structure to underly measures of psychological distress. Cross- ethnic differences is psychological distress will be examined to highlight patterns of alcohol/drug usage across ethnicities. This study should: (a) Clarify the interrelationships among measures of psychological distress across ethnic groups as determined in the context of a hierarchical model distress; (b) Identify possible culture-specific mediators of distress (e.g., acculturation, cognitive style); and (c) Examine and elucidate differences in alcohol/drug use behavior as a function of the hierarchial distress construct and culture-specific mediating and coping mechanisms.
