Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Groups

In Australia, one in three people are born overseas, and one in five households speak languages other than English. After English, the most common languages spoken at home are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian and Greek. Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) group (CALD) populations are typically less likely to drink alcohol compared to non-CALD populations. However, given the heterogeneity in CALD populations, some specific communities have reported drinking practices associated with higher risk to health; and there are concerns about individual, family, and community-level harms from alcohol consumption in various CALD communities.  

Alcohol consumption levels in culturally diverse communities are influenced by a range of factors. Two models of explanation are: acculturation model and acculturative stress model.  

• Acculturation typically refers to the process by which new migrants are exposed to and adopt the social, cultural, gender norms, and practices of the new society. This is evidenced by the tendency among some CALD community members to increase their alcohol consumption over time in the host country and is related to factors including education and host country language competence.  
• Acculturative stress posits that alcohol is used as a mechanism to cope with the emotional impact of economic exclusion, social marginalisation, family-cultural conflict, and discrimination following resettlement. Ongoing impacts of exposure to pre-settlement trauma among refugee/refugee-like populations intersects with these in complex ways.  

Thus, it is critical to consider the broader macro-structural factors, including economic, political and community conditions, that contribute to health disadvantages as an important component to reduce alcohol-related harms and health inequities.