Further Observations on the Use of Wine and Other Alcoholic Beverages by Italians and Americans of Italian Extraction

Abstract

A study in the relationships between eating and drinking habits of the indiviudal and his psychosocial adjustment. The data represent a dietary record kept by 147 Italians living in Italy and 153 Americans of Italian extraction living in the United States. Italians drank wine more frequently, more consistently and in larger amts. than Italian Americans. Wine often contributed a sizable portion of the total caloric intake of the subjects. Only few Italians drank beer during the week of observation. On the other hand, a considerable number of Italian Americans used beer moderately. Distilled spirits were ingested in appreciable amounts by only 1 Italian subject, by a considerable number of Italian-American men and women. The Italians usually confine alcohol consumption to meals; Italian-Americans rarely so. The differences in drinking habits are marked between Italian men and women and only slight between Italian- American men and women perhaps reflecting an American de-differentiation in behavior of the sexes.