The purpose of this study was to assess racial differences in the risk of alcohol‐related problems associated with alcohol consumption, regular psychoactive drug use, a family history of alcohol‐related problems, sociodemographic factors (age and education), and social roles (work, marital, and parental) among nonabstaining African‐American and White gynecologic outpatients. In addition, work, marital, and parental roles were investigated to determine whether they mediated or explained racial differences observed in relationships between these factors and alcohol‐related problems. Respondents were 630 African‐American women and 769 White women aged 13–77 who were systematically sampled from three obstetric/gynecologic clinics and two private practices in Erie County, New York. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to test the significance of main effects of these factors on alcohol‐related problems, to test the interactive effects of race with each factor, and to test the interactive effects of social roles with alcohol consumption, the only factor for which a racial difference was observed in its relationship with alcohol‐related problems.Overall, results indicated that correlates of alcohol‐related problems were similar for African‐American and White women. Higher risk of alcohol‐related problems was associated with lower levels of education and lack of work and parental roles. In addition, married women who drank heavily were at higher risk of alcohol‐related problems than unmarried women who drank heavily. The fact that White women were more likely than African‐American women to be married contributed to the observation that the relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol‐related problems was stronger among White women than a