ABORIGINES AND ALCOHOL INTAKE, EFFECTS AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS IN A RURAL COMMUNITY IN WESTERN NEW SOUTH WALES

Abstract

An examination of the patterns of alcohol drinking in a part-Aboriginal community in rural New South Wales revealed a prevalence of heavy drinking in 53.2% of men and 3.1% of women. The prevalence of problem drinkers was 31.4% for men and 3.9% for women. However, the chances of becoming a reformed problem drinker appeared greater in Aboriginal than in white people. Drinking was due more to group psychosocial pressures rather than to underlying individual psychiatric disorder. Improvement in social circumstances through aiding these Aborigines in the process of community development showed early promise of reducing both the amount and the frequency of drinking episodes.