The Influence of Societal Level Factors on Men's and Women's Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol Problems

Rahav, Giora; Wilsnack, Richard W.; Bloomfield, Kim; Gmel, Gerhard; Kuntsche, Sandra

doi:10.1093/alcalc/agl075

Cited by 108 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Given the recent narrowing of the gender difference in alcohol consumption, it is posited that the change of women's traditional feminine norms, and increasing endorsement of traditionally masculine traits, may explain converging drinking rates. This notion is supported by international studies that have found that in societies where women achieve greater equality and approach masculine social status, women and men's drinking rates tend to be more similar (Rahav et al, 2006).…”

Section: Gender and Healthmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Studies sampling drinking rates internationally have found similar results, indicating that cross-culturally, men drink at higher rates than women (Wilsnack et al, 2009;Rahav et al, 2006). Wilsnack and colleagues (2009) argue that women drink less frequently for a number of reasons, including: women generally are lighter drinkers than men, drinking is not as significant for women's social roles as it is for men's, and because women may stop drinking during pregnancy and child-rearing, and then may not resume drinking.…”

Section: Outcomes: Alcohol Use and Alcohol-related Problemsmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Alcohol consumption, in particular, has been studied as a gendered activity, as researchers have noted that cross-culturally, men drink more often and more heavily than women (Rahav, Wilsnack, Bloomfield, Gmel, & Kuntsche, 2006). This is most likely because masculinity is characterized by risk-taking and competitiveness (Mahalik et al, 2003;Lyons, 2009), which are traits that lend themselves to heavier drinking.…”

Section: Gender and Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…That is, drinking patterns differentiate men and women's positions in society. Because the gender gap in drinking is a result of gender-based statuses, it is unsurprising that drinking rates between men and women will converge as women achieve increasing equality with men (Rahav et al, 2006). As women occupy more social areas that have traditionally been male-dominated, the "pay off" for this increasing equality is experiencing alcohol's adverse consequences (Rahav et al, 2006;p.…”

Section: Gender and Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of feminine and masculine norms in college women’s alcohol use.

Kaya

2016

Psychology of Men & Masculinity

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Current literature suggests not only that men and women can conform to both feminine and masculine norms, but that women who adhere to certain masculine norms may be at greater risk for problematic alcohol use. This study examined conformity to both masculine and feminine norms, and how conformity to distinct norms influenced heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related problems among a sample of underage college women (N= 645). Results demonstrated that the masculine norms risk-taking and emotional control were associated with increased HED, while the masculine norm power over women was associated with a decrease in HED. Traditional feminine norms, including modesty and sexual fidelity, were associated with a decrease in HED and alcohol-related problems. The feminine norm relational was associated with increased HED, while the norms thinness and appearance were associated with increased alcohol-related problems. The study's theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

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Section: Gender and Healthmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Outcomes: Alcohol Use and Alcohol-related Problemsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Gender and Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gender and Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The role of feminine and masculine norms in college women’s alcohol use.

Kaya

2016

Psychology of Men & Masculinity

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“…Drinking is a gendered activity, with men drinking more often and more heavily than women internationally (Rahav et al 2006), and traditionally expected to drink (primarily beer) excessively and in public (Lemle and Mishkind 1989). We enact varied gender identities by taking part in behaviour that has cultural meanings that are associated with versions of masculinity and femininity , Lyons 2009); here gender is an ongoing bodily performance (Butler 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Staying ‘in the Zone’ but Not Passing the ‘Point of No Return’: Embodiment, Gender and Drinking in Mid‐Life

Lyons¹,

Emslie²,

Hunt³

2014

From Health Behaviours to Health Practices

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Public health approaches have frequently conceptualised alcohol consumption as an individual behaviour resulting from rational choice. We argue that drinking alcohol needs to be understood as an embodied social practice embedded in gendered social relationships and environments. We draw on data from 14 focus groups with pre-existing groups of friends and work colleagues in which men and women in mid-life discussed their drinking behaviour. Analysis demonstrated that drinking alcohol marked a transitory time and space that altered both women's and men's subjective embodied experience of everyday gendered roles and responsibilities. The participants positioned themselves as experienced drinkers who, through accumulated knowledge of their own physical bodies, could achieve enjoyable bodily sensations by reaching a desired level of intoxication (being in the zone). These mid-life adults, particularly women, discussed knowing when they were approaching their limit and needed to stop drinking. Experiential and gendered embodied knowledge was more important in regulating consumption than health promotion advice. These findings foreground the relational and gendered nature of drinking and reinforce the need to critically interrogate the concept of alcohol consumption as a simple health behaviour. Broader theorising around notions of gendered embodiment may be helpful for more sophisticated conceptualisations of health practices.

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Cross-National Associations Between Gender and Mental Disorders in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys

Seedat¹,

Scott

Angermeyer³

et al. 2009

Arch Gen Psychiatry

1,194

638

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Context Gender differences in mental disorders, including more anxiety-mood disorders among women and more externalizing disorders among men, are found consistently in epidemiological surveys. The “gender roles” hypothesis suggests that these differences should narrow as the roles of women and men become more equal. Objective To study time-space (i.e., cohort-country) variation in gender differences in lifetime DSM-IV mental disorders across cohorts in 15 countries in the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative and determine if this variation is significantly related to time-space variation in female gender role traditionality (GRT) as measured by aggregate patterns of female education, employment, marital timing, and use of birth control. Design/Setting and Participants Face-to face household surveys of 72,933 community-dwelling adults in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific. Main Outcomes The WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) assessed lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset of 18 DSM-IV anxiety, mood, externalizing, and substance disorders. Survival analyses estimated time-space variation in Female:Male (F:M) odds-ratios (ORs) of these disorders across cohorts defined by age ranges 18–34, 35–49, 50–64, and 65+. Structural equation analysis examined predictive effects of variation in GRT on these ORs. Results Women had more anxiety-mood disorders than men and men more externalizing-substance disorders than women in all cohorts and countries. Although gender differences were generally consistent across cohorts, significant narrowing was found in recent cohorts for major depressive disorder (MDD) and substance disorders. This narrowing was significantly related to temporal (MDD) and spatial (substance disorders) variation in GRT. Conclusion While gender differences in most lifetime mental disorders were fairly stable over the time-space units studied, substantial inter-cohort narrowing of differences in major depression was found related to changes in the traditionality of female gender roles. Further research is needed to understand why this temporal narrowing was confined to major depression.

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The Influence of Societal Level Factors on Men's and Women's Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol Problems

Abstract: Gender differences should be studied not only as individual behaviours, but also as societal traits, associated with other characteristics of the social system.

Cited by 108 publications

References 17 publications

The role of feminine and masculine norms in college women’s alcohol use.

The role of feminine and masculine norms in college women’s alcohol use.

Staying ‘in the Zone’ but Not Passing the ‘Point of No Return’: Embodiment, Gender and Drinking in Mid‐Life

Cross-National Associations Between Gender and Mental Disorders in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys

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