Alcohol-related social disorder and indigenous Australians: Recent past and future directions

Proportionally, fewer Indigenous Australians consume alcohol than non-Indigenous Australians, however, of those Indigenous persons who do drink, far more do so at hazardous or harmful levels. It is not surprising, then, given the association between alcohol consumption and social disorder, that there is a relatively high level of alcohol-related disorder experienced by Indigenous persons. This chapter provides a descriptive overview of levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related social disorder, including violence, revealed by the National Drug Strategy Household Survey Indigenous Supplement (1994). Despite (or perhaps because of) the high levels of alcohol-related disorder indicated, the survey also shows that Indigenous peoples do not underestimate the problems associated with alcohol, and this opens up avenues for the development of appropriate interventions.