Family History and its relation to Alcohol and Illicit Drug use amongst College Students  and African Americans at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

In ancient times, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were among  postsecondary institutions of learning that were introduced in the 1800s with the objective of  presenting African Americans with the opportunity of accessing higher learning. A  significant number of African Americans found it extremely difficult to access higher  learning since they were largely preoccupied with servitude positions before the  Reconstruction Era (1865–1877) in the history of the United States. Historically Black  Colleges and Universities have continued with the representation of a rich legacy about the  background of education for African Americans (Challenor, 2002). However, it is worth  pointing out that most of these institutions are presently faced with a myriad of challenges  including financial constraints and indulgence in alcohol drinking and illicit drug use by  students who comprise African Americans. Previous research has been able to show the  manner in which HBCUs have always tried to culturally and academically black students  from diverse family backgrounds across the United States (Uwakonye and Osho,  2012). Many researchers have continued to put more emphasis on the role of family history  among other factors about the increasing prevalence of alcohol and illicit drug use among  college students. Taplin, Saddichha, and Krausz (2014) indicate that a family is an important  unit in the socialization process since it assists in the selective acquisition of values, attitudes,  knowledge and motives displayed by young people towards alcohol and illicit drugs.  Generally, the family is regarded as a critical fundamental unit that determines the nature and  level of socialization experienced by an individual. To that extent, family history is believed to have a crucial role to play in influencing the likelihood of African Americans at  historically black colleges and universities to indulge in alcohol and illicit drug use.

The observations made by Pilatti et al. (2013) indicate that family history of an  individual could be used in the determination of the kind of social values that are usually  passed from one generation to another. In this case, the behavioral values and tendencies  associated with drinking and use of illicit drugs seen among students at African Americans at  historically black colleges and universities could have been passed from to them owing to the  value system in their families. Having experienced numerous incidences of racism and  discrimination, the historical background of most African American families is largely  associated with instabilities. To that extent, there are high tendencies for children from such  families who are presently in colleges and universities to develop a defiant pattern of  behavior as explained by Compton et al. (2002). The socialization processes of this group of  students are considerably impacted by the history of the families especially when racism and  discrimination against the blacks were rampant in the United States. Some studies have  pointed out that initial alcohol and illicit drug use among young people in colleges and  universities are largely linked to the historical values that the families have continued to  espouse (Gasman & Abiola, 2015). Young people who are brought up in intact families that  are strongly guided by religious values and obedience to various laws and regulations have a  lower likelihood of engaging in the consumption of alcohol and use of the illicit drug even  when they are under pressure from their peers. Lewis & Wahesh (2015) found that young  people in colleges and universities who were involved in heavy drinking or excessive use of  illicit drugs were struggling with issues related to the historical instabilities in the families.  Research conducted by Kapner (2003) on young African Americans studying in historically  Black colleges and universities revealed some reasons why they are more likely to find  themselves indulging in alcohol drinking or use of illicit drugs.

Further, the research established that some of the variables that had the strongest  association with this kind of behavior included parental approval and historical family  background among others. Studies have been able to indicate that the existing high tendencies  of alcohol and drug-related homicides to occur in communities where the majority of  residents are young African Americans. This could also be attributable to the common trend  that is often displayed by African Americans at historically black colleges and universities  about alcohol and illicit drugs consumption. Such communities are characterized by  disagreements and arguments that happen a

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