Gender differences in factors influencing alcohol use and drinking progression among adolescents

Abstract

While prevalence rates for alcohol use and related disorders differ widely between adult men and women, male and female adolescents do not exhibit the same disparity in alcohol consumption. Previous research and reviews do not address the emergence of differences in drinking patterns that occur during late adolescence. Therefore, a developmental perspective is presented for understanding how various risk and protective factors associated with problematic drinking affect diverging alcohol trajectories as youth move into young adulthood. This review examines factors associated with risk for developing an alcohol use disorder in adolescent girls and boys separately. Findings indicate that certain biological (i.e., genetic risk, neurological abnormalities associated with P300 amplitudes) and psychosocial (i.e., impact of positive drinking expectancies, personality characteristics, and deviance proneness) factors appear to impact boys and girls similarly. In contrast, physiological and social changes particular to adolescence appear to differentially affect boys and girls as they transition into adulthood. Specifically, boys begin to manifest a constellation of factors that place them at greater risk for disruptive drinking: low response to alcohol, later maturation in brain structures and executive function, greater estimates of perceived peer alcohol use, and socialization into traditional gender roles. On an individual level, interventions which challenge media-driven stereotypes of gender roles while simultaneously reinforcing personal values are suggested as a way to strengthen adolescent autonomy in terms of healthy drinking decisions. Moreover, parents and schools must improve consistency in rules and consequences regarding teen drinking across gender to avoid mixed messages about acceptable alcohol use for boys and girls.

Psychoactive substance use, family context and mental health among Brazilian adolescents, National Adolescent School-based Health Survey (PeNSE 2012)

“…These findings can be explained by the earlier puberty among girls, which makes them more prone to consuming alcohol. However, with time, they are overcome by the boys 19 . The risk of using tobacco was higher among students attending public schools, and the risk of the regular intake of alcohol and trying other drugs was higher among those attending private schools, which, in this study, would be the closest factor indicating higher socioeconomic status.…”

Psychosocial Determinants of Risky Sexual Behaviour by Gender in Spain

“…Gender based studies of behaviours such as alcohol consumption [15] could be a starting point for the gender analysis of sexual relations, and this could be of use for policy makers who are increasingly concerned with offering women specific health goods and services that go beyond questions related to reproduction [16].…”

Adolescent Susceptibility to Deviant Peer Pressure: Does Gender Matter?

“…The increasing salience of gender role stereotypes during adolescent development juxtaposed against socialization pressures from peers can heighten adolescents' awareness about the consequences of deviating from masculine and feminine norms for males and females, respectively. For instance, studies have shown that early adolescents perceive social status and risky, defiant behaviors to be more closely associated with male popularity and peer approval (Closson 2009;Iwamoto and Smiler 2013;Mahalik et al 2007;Rienzi et al 1996;Schulte et al 2009), and males who deviate from gender-congruent expectations experience negative social consequences, such as peer rejection (Bosson et al 2006;Mora 2012). As a result, males may feel socialization pressures to assert traditionally masculine behaviors such as rule-breaking and defiance.…”