The Reframe app equips you with the knowledge and skills you need to not only survive drinking less, but to thrive while you navigate the journey. Our daily research-backed readings teach you the neuroscience of alcohol, and our in-app Toolkit provides the resources and activities you need to navigate each challenge. Participants responded to a single item in grade 12 from the Primary Prevention Awareness Attitudes & Usage Scale (Swisher, Shute, & Bibeau, 1984).

As previously discussed, a reason for this finding might be that the relationship between depressive symptoms and drinking or problems is more complex among college populations than adult populations. In fact, multiple studies have found weak or non-significant correlations between depressive symptoms and drinking (e.g., Armeli, et al., 2010; Gonzalez, et al., 2009; Nagoshi, 1999; Patock-Peckham, et al., 1998). As such, controlling for perceived social norms might allow for better isolation of the effect of depressive symptoms on CDM. Replications of this research might investigate whether taking social norms into account might better explicate the relationship between depressive symptoms and CDM.

Cross-Sectional Model Predicting Young Adult Alcohol Misuse

Evidence for a closing gender gap in alcohol use, abuse, and dependence in the United States population.

Response to Imagery Exposure

The present findings confirm this pathway but also support the role of social drinking motives as a mediator of the stress–alcohol misuse association for both genders. The findings indicate that young adults who are under stress are likely to endorse using alcohol to stress drinking has a gender divide enhance social interaction as well as to alleviate negative internal states. This could mean that normatively stressed young adults socialize in part to deal with their stress and use alcohol to facilitate these social interactions. Social interaction is a context for venting frustrations and seeking social support, which are both strategies for reducing stress; alternatively, social interaction can serve as a distraction from pressures or problems.

Does Alcohol Affect Men and Women Differently?

Because of our interest in drinking behavior, abstainers and infrequent drinkers were excluded from recruitment into the study. Consequently, the proportion of problem drinkers in this sample is higher than in general community samples (Brennan et al., 1999). Informed consent was obtained from all participants; additional details about initial recruitment are available elsewhere (Brennan and Moos, 1990; Moos et al., 1990). What works for one gender may not be as effective for the other, and individual variations within genders are significant.

• They had bar stools, a bartender, and allowed the participants — 105 men and 105 women — to intermingle.
• Although the findings for these situations were generally consistent with findings for other stressors, replication with larger samples would be useful.
• 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).
• However, it appears that men are more likely than women, and problem-drinking men and women are more likely than nonproblem drinkers, to respond to such opportunities with increased alcohol use.
• Furthermore, the low level of exposure to some stressors and the low rate of problem drinking among the women in this sample resulted in small samples for analyses of reactivity to some stressors, particularly financial/legal problems and workplace problems.
• Regarding the effects of adolescent drunkenness, more frequent drunkenness during adolescence was related to greater endorsement of coping and social motives for both men and women.

Stress Drinking Has a Gender Divide

This suggests that females lower in depressive symptoms and higher in CDM are at increased risk for drinking more frequently and experiencing more problems relative to females lower in CDM or higher in depressive symptoms. These results also beg the question as to why females higher in CDM are at greater risk if they are lower in depressive symptoms. The literature demonstrates that depressive symptoms are not always positively linked with drinking among undergraduate students (e.g., Pedrelli et al., 2011). A potential explanation for these findings is related to the pervasiveness of drinking in college. Furthermore, it might be the case that female students higher in coping motives and who are experiencing problems might be more likely to drink to cope with situations or circumstances other than depression.

• Starting in the ’90s, alcohol companies launched products like Smirnoff Ice that were meant to appeal to young women.
• Women are more likely than men to solicit social support in general and are more likely to feel satisfied with the support they receive (Barbee & Cunningham, 1993); they are also more likely to be social facilitators.
• These differences are not merely anecdotal but are rooted in complex biological, psychological, and social factors.
• Calculator tools created by the US National Institutes of Health can help us determine the number of standard drinks in our alcoholic beverages.
• The finding that both social and coping motives are implicated in alcohol misuse indicates that it may be useful to steer young adults away from using alcohol for either reason.

Disorders

The impact on relationships and social functioning is another crucial aspect to consider. Stress drinking can strain personal relationships, lead to decreased productivity at work, and result in social isolation. While these effects can occur regardless of gender, the societal perception and consequences may differ between men and women. In the short term, women tend to experience more severe hangovers and are at higher risk of alcohol poisoning due to their body’s different response to alcohol. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to engage in risky behaviors while under the influence, such as drunk driving or getting into physical altercations. However, alcohol is harmful for both men and women and it’s important to note that individual differences aside from gender can also impact alcohol’s effect on us.

Participants reported demographic information such as year in school, racial background, ethnicity, age, and gender. The analyses included all available data on the study variables from grade 12 and early adulthood by using maximum likelihood estimation. Participants responded to the question, “Over the last 30 days, how many times have you had five or more drinks in a row? Data were collected annually through written questionnaires administered at school each fall in adolescence. Project staff administered the survey without school staff being present, and girls and boys were surveyed separately. Students’ names were removed from survey forms when the surveys were administered, and numeric codes were used to link students’ questionnaires between survey years.