Cultural background and drinking patterns in problem drinkers in northern Norway

It was hypothesized that drinking patterns, treatment goals and psycho-social consequences of drinking (as measured by the MAST) would be different in Saami ('Lapp') and Norwegian in-patient problem drinkers, due to differences in cultural background. Drinking patterns and treatment goals differed significantly, implying that Saami clients demonstrated a more periodic drinking pattern and, to a smaller extent, tended to prefer total abstinence or a large reduction in alcohol consumption as their treatment goal compared to Norwegian clients. Furthermore, the Saami clients obtained significantly lower scores on the MAST than the Norwegian clients. No differences in degree of physical dependence and self-reported alcohol consumption were observed. These findings indicate that the drinking culture in the two groups is different. Furthermore, the results imply that the MAST yields different problem scores in Saami and Norwegian clients, probably due to differences in ways of living in the two ethnic groups.