As part of a study of the cultural and societal factors influencing alcohol use and abuse and variations in drinking patterns among California's Spanish speaking population, ethnographic research was conducted in three separate communities. In this paper, the design and methodology (including participant observation), and some of the results of…

Interviews with 634 Hispanics living in California's San Francisco Bay Area provided data on their drinking patterns by sex, age, income, education, marital status, occupation, and religion. Results confirmed previous findings that indicate that Hispanics have a higher rate of heavy drinking and alcohol problems than other ethnic groups. (NQA)