Nonproblem drinkers tended to show a similar pattern of gender differences in drinking reactivity to that found in the overall sample, with men showing greater drinking reactivity to financial/legal problems, death of someone close, and emotional distress. Differences between women and men problem and nonproblem drinkers in the percentages reporting exposure to social influences and stressors We also reported that, compared with nonproblem drinkers, problem drinkers had higher levels of exposure to a variety of social influences, stressor situations, and emotional distress and showed higher drinking reactivity in these situations (Lemke et al., 2007). The findings are limited and inconsistent regarding possible gender differences in reactivity to the social influences of peers’ or partner’s drinking. It is important to note that gender differences in exposure to stressors may in part reflect differences in participants’ employment histories and in the size and composition of their social networks and may thus be expected to vary over time and across cultures.
Stress Impact on Well-being: How Positive and Negative Stimuli Affect…
Skaff and colleagues (1999) found similarities in overall levels of life events experienced by problem-drinking men and women, but men were more likely than women to report stressors related to work and less likely to report stressors related to their health or to problems with relatives. With regard to exposure to social influences among problem drinkers, men generally have a higher proportion of friends who drink (Mohr et al., 2001), and women are more likely to be exposed to a heavy-drinking spouse (e.g., Miller and Cervantes, 1997; Mohr et al., 2001). In the case of such shared risk factors, gender differences identified in samples with varied alcohol use are likely to diminish or disappear when problem-drinking women and men are compared. For instance, men may have greater drinking reactivity to stressors and thus be more prone to problem drinking, but men and women who become problem drinkers may be equally likely to react to stressors by drinking. In a recent review, Nolen-Hoeksema (2004) noted that conclusions about gender differences in the relationship between emotional distress and drinking depended on whether the sample was a community sample or a sample of individuals with alcohol-use disorders.
Gender Differences in the Longitudinal Model
Although gender differences in the associations between stress and drinking motives have been reported previously in some studies (e.g., King, Bernardy, & Hauner, 2003; Rice & Van Arsdale, 2010), those studies focused on general measures of perceived stress rather than domain-specific, normative stress. More frequent drunkenness in adolescence was significantly related to more young adult negative consequences and binge drinking through more occupational stress, which was then related to greater endorsement of social motives (see Table 3). Furthermore, endorsement of each drinking motive was positively related to binge drinking, and endorsement of social motives (but not coping motives) was related to negative consequences of drinking. Finally, a longitudinal model was estimated, using a multiple group analysis, to investigate the effect of frequency of drunkenness in adolescence on young adult stress, drinking motives, and binge drinking and negative consequences of alcohol use. In a college sample, Rice and Van Arsdale (2010) documented a significant indirect path from general perceived stress to negative consequences of drinking though coping motives.
Preliminary Analyses
These results indicated that the positive relations between coping and social motives and binge drinking were significantly stronger in men than women. Longitudinal indirect effects of adolescent frequency of drunkenness on binge drinking and negative consequences of drinking through stress and drinking motives. Greater endorsement of coping motives was directly related to more negative consequences, and more relationship stress was indirectly related to more negative consequences from alcohol use through greater endorsement of coping stress drinking has a gender divide motives.
There is also evidence that the association between stress and alcohol use depends on the measure of alcohol use and the type of stressor examined. Although these conditions may be stressful at other times as well, their importance is likely to be intensified in early adulthood when expectations and responsibilities in both domains increase. Stress is the body’s reaction to a challenge or demand and is accompanied by emotional or physical tension, and several models of alcohol use posit that unpleasant tension and/or negative emotions drive alcohol consumption (Cappell & Greeley, 1987; Sher & Grekin, 2007). Consistent with this perspective, women are more likely than men to report that good family relationships are important to them, whereas men are more likely to report that their work is a source of stress (American Psychological Association, 2010).
Chronic relationship stress
On the other hand, women have historically faced more social stigma for drinking, especially in public or to excess. These influences are deeply ingrained in our society and can significantly impact how men and women approach alcohol as a stress-coping mechanism. The sociocultural landscape plays a pivotal role in shaping stress drinking patterns across genders. Coping mechanisms and their relation to gender play a significant role in stress drinking behaviors.
- Few successful women would willingly get hooked on Valium, but large numbers today are dosing their discomfort with alcohol.
- Attrition analyses compared participants who did and did not continue participation into early adulthood.
- Our findings are generally consistent with this summary statement and highlight the fact that conclusions about gender differences in drinking are likely to vary depending on whether analyses focus on general population samples or exclusively on problem drinkers.
- Furthermore, more frequent adolescent drunkenness was indirectly related to more young adult binge drinking through more occupational stress, which was then related to greater endorsement of coping motives.
A bootstrap approach (Shrout & Bolger, 2002) was used to investigate the indirect effects of each type of stressor on alcohol misuse through coping motives and social motives. Because drinking motives are considered to be the proximal reasons people drink (Kunsche et al., 2007), it was expected that the relationship between stress and alcohol misuse would be mediated by drinking motives (Hypothesis 2). Taken together, these findings suggest a greater sensitivity of women to interpersonal stress and stronger associations among stress, drinking to cope, and alcohol misuse for women than men. Furthermore, among adults seeking treatment for alcohol problems, women reported drinking more in response to negative emotions and interpersonal conflict than men did (Lau-Barraco, Skewes, & Stasiewicz, 2009), suggesting a greater vulnerability among women to emotional and interpersonal stress.
- (In response to Stat, which broke the story, NIAAA Director George Koob said he meant that he wouldn’t support “research that was not of the highest scientific quality.”) The alcohol industry has spent more and more in political contributions with every presidential election cycle.
- These stresses can lead to depression, insomnia, or even thoughts of suicide.
- Thus, social drinking motives among women may partly reflect the desire for social support.
- In contrast to most previous research on drinking motives (Cooper et al., 2016), the present findings indicated more consistent associations between drinking motives and binge drinking than negative consequences of drinking.
Psychological Factors Contributing to the Gender Divide
In terms of reactivity to stressors, current theorizing posits gender differences in the form of men’s and women’s reactivity to stressors rather than an overall gender difference in reactivity. Within each of these categories, we also distinguish between exposure and reactivity to social influences to drink and to stressors. Problem-drinking women and men tend to be exposed to somewhat different social influences and stressors but share a tendency to respond to these experiences with increased drinking. More broadly, the results suggest a need for a nuanced approach to investigating the linkages among stress, drinking motives, and alcohol misuse, one that considers gender and developmental stage in conceptualizing these associations. Evidence supporting the importance of normative occupational and relationship stress suggests that, in addition to negative life events, interventions to reduce alcohol misuse in early adulthood might attend to salient stressors frequently experienced during this developmental period.
Stress Drinking Has a Gender Divide
This means that alcohol is less diluted in a woman’s body, leading to higher blood alcohol concentrations even when consuming the same amount as a man of similar weight. As the cocktail glass teeters between his and her hands, society’s unspoken rules dictate who will reach for it first when stress comes knocking.
That is, men and women with problem drinking appear to share an elevated tendency to drink more in response to social influences, stressors, and emotional distress. In contrast, gender differences in drinking reactivity may help to explain differences in problem-drinking prevalence between men and women. Among problem drinkers, there were no significant gender differences in drinking reactivity in these situations (Table 3).
For both men and women, all significant direct and indirect effects that were present in the cross-sectional model continued to be significant in the longitudinal model (see Table 3 and Figure 2). Then, each path was tested to determine if it differed significantly between men and women. Participants responded to the question, “Over the last 30 days, how many times have you had five or more drinks in a row? The four items were averaged to create a total score, with a higher score indicating more stress in romantic relationships. Four items from the Turner et al. (1995) stress measure formed a second factor (see Appendix) reflecting romantic relationship stress during the past six months. The four occupational stress items were averaged to create a total occupational stress score, with higher scores indicating more occupational stress.
“A lot of the research in this area is limited to two-drink taste test studies which really does not model impaired control over alcohol well. They had bar stools, a bartender, and allowed the participants — 105 men and 105 women — to intermingle. To me, impaired control over drinking is at the crux of addiction.”
The Prevalence of Stress Drinking Across Genders
Although men overall reported greater exposure to peers’ drinking than did women, this gender difference was not statistically significant among either nonproblem or problem drinkers. Comparisons in the overall sample indicated that men had greater drinking reactivity in most of the social influence or stressors situations that we assessed (Table 1). (1) Overall, do women and men differ in their exposure to social influences, stressors, and emotional distress?
In summarizing the existing research, we therefore first focus on gender differences in general population samples or samples that include both problem and nonproblem drinkers. The first issue concerns overall gender differences, whereas the second focuses on gender differences among problem drinkers. Overall, women were more likely than men to report exposure to a partner’s drinking, family interpersonal problems, death of someone close, and emotional distress. Sex differences in the onset and maintenance of alcohol use begin to develop during adolescence, coinciding with exposure to early life stress. Overall, women are generally more likely to drink to regulate negative affect and stress reactivity.
The indirect effect of relationship stress on binge drinking through social motives was significant, whereas the indirect effect of relationship stress through coping motives was not, partially supporting Hypothesis 2 (see Table 2). In turn, stronger endorsement of social motives was significantly related to more binge drinking (but not to negative consequences). Cross-sectional indirect effects of stress on binge drinking and negative consequences of drinking through drinking motives.
When men spend household money on alcohol, there may not be enough left for food, school fees, or medicine. Additional research will be needed to ascertain which conclusions generalize to other birth cohorts and social groups as well as cross-culturally. These results also may reflect the particular birth cohort and social milieu of respondents from whom results were obtained. For example, women may be more aware of interpersonal issues or may have a lower threshold than men for reporting interpersonal problems. Reporting that an event has occurred may be related to the salience of the situation and is itself a form of reactivity. This pattern is consistent with expectations based on the heavier alcohol consumption of men as manifested in men’s friendships and work relationships and in their partner relationships.
Partners
“The important take-home message is that it is not ‘ok’ to apply models of alcohol addiction designed from studies of just cisgender men to cisgender women,” she says. “Theoretically, we expected both men and women to need the stress and the prime dose to achieve the highest blood alcohol concentrations. Women who experienced stress drank heavily regardless of if their first drink contained alcohol or not. Men whose first drink contained alcohol and who then experienced stress drank more than men who received the alcohol-free drink. Some participants’ first drink contained roughly three times the amount of alcohol you would typically find in a drink. “Some individuals just keep drinking once they have some alcohol in their system.