Rates of alcohol use disorders (AUD) are generally low among women who have ever had children (mothers) compared to women who have never had children (nonmothers), presenting a motherhood advantage. It is unclear if this advantage accrues to “Black” and “White” women alike. Using National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) wave 2 cross-sectional data that is rich in alcohol use and psychological measures, we examined the following: (a) if motherhood is protective for past-year AUD among Black ( ) and White women ( ); (b) potential explanatory psychological mechanisms; and (c) the role of race. Prevalence of a past-year DSM-IV AUD was lower among White mothers compared to White nonmothers, but this same advantage was not observed for Black women. Perceived stress was a risk for all women, but race-ethnic segregated social networks and perceived discrimination predicted current AUD for Black mothers. Unlike White mothers, current psychological factors but not family history of alcohol problems predicted AUD for Black mothers. Future prospective studies should address the mechanisms by which race, motherhood, and psychological factors interactively affect AUD in women. 1. Introduction Existing epidemiological evidence for alcohol use disorder (AUD) supports the notion that women who have ever had children (mothers) experience a motherhood advantage; that is, they exhibit lower rates of AUD than women who have never had children (nonmothers) [1–3]. A lifetime motherhood role provides a number of protections including becoming more careful with alcohol use and not having a lot of extra time to drink [3]. However, to date, no studies have examined if this advantage differs by race. The purpose of this study is to use cross-sectional national survey data to compare AUD among mothers and nonmothers, while at the same time disentangling any racial disparities. Additionally, we examine associations with individual-difference variables to illuminate potential general (e.g., perceived stress, social support, and discrimination) and race-related psychological factors (e.g., racial networks) that might explain different observed patterns by race [3–5]. In the biomedical literature, AUD is a condition impacted by genetic [6], metabolic (e.g., [7]), family history [8], and social contextual factors related to availability of alcohol [9] and access to services [10]. In the general-population epidemiological literature, the prevalence of AUD is considerably lower among women than men, which has been attributed to less access to alcohol and
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