Under-Researched Demographics: Heavy Episodic Drinking and Alcohol-Related Problems Among Asian Americans

Historically, Asian Americans have reported lower rates of alcohol misuse compared with other racial/ethnic groups (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 2009; Wechsler et al. 2000). However, epidemiological data illustrates that heavy episodic drinking and alcohol abuse are significant and increasing among U.S.-born Asian-American young adults ages 18–25 (Grant et al. 2004). Within one decade alone, the prevalence of alcohol abuse increased fivefold among Asian Americans, from 0.74 percent in 1991–1992 to 3.89 percent in 2001–2002 (Grant et al. 2004). Moreover, recent studies have identified high-risk subgroups of Asian-American young adults who engage in higher rates of heavy episodic drinking compared with their Asian-American peers (Iwamoto et al. 2010). Additionally, some U.S.-born Asian-American ethnic subgroups may engage in heavy episodic drinking at comparable rates to high-risk groups (e.g., college fraternity members) in the general population (Iwamoto et al. 2011b). Despite this growing concern, Asian Americans are perceived as a low-risk group with respect to alcohol problems, partially because of the “model minority” myth and the stereotype of Asian Americans generally being well assimilated to U.S. culture, being financially and academically successful, and with low levels of psychological distress (Gupta et al. 2011)