Theorists have argued that we must consider the intersection between gender and other social categories (e.g., ethnicity, socioeconomic status) in order to fully understand when and in what setting gender differences occur (e.g., Crenshaw, 1997). Thus, future research on the intersection of gender and ethnicity in terms of emotional response to stress is warranted. Moreover, our findings illustrate the importance of examining exposure to social influences or stressors and drinking reactivity separately. For example, studies that do not distinguish between exposure and reactivity may find that problem-drinking women are more likely than problem-drinking men to state that partner’s drinking, family stressors, and emotional distress contribute to increases in their alcohol consumption. However, our findings indicate that this difference reflects mainly a difference between women and men in their likelihood of experiencing these situations rather than in their susceptibility to drinking when these situations occur. 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.

• Replications of this research might investigate whether taking social norms into account might better explicate the relationship between depressive symptoms and CDM.
• To explore the shared and unique factors that may characterize the experiences of problem drinking for women and men, we then compared problem- and nonproblem-drinking women and men separately.
• 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.
• Given the importance of imagery ability for imagining the stress, alcohol cue, and neutral scenes, all subjects (both men and women) were given the Questionnaire of Mental Imagery (QMI; Sheehan, 1967) before enrolling in the study.
• “Women get help at lower rates than men, and shame is often the reason,” says Melise Ammit, a sober coach and nurse specialist working in the area of women and alcohol.
• 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.
• Comparisons of men’s and women’s drinking, both at the overall level and among problem drinkers, have examined possible differences in reasons for drinking, including social influences on drinking and drinking in response to stressors or emotional distress (e.g., Nolen-Hoeksema, 2004).

The psychological aspects of stress drinking are deeply intertwined with societal expectations and individual coping mechanisms. Understanding these factors is crucial in addressing the gender divide in stress-related alcohol consumption. 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. This seemingly innocuous moment encapsulates a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors that contribute to the gender divide in stress drinking. Drinking motives have been linked to heavier alcohol use among adolescents (Cooper, 1994; Cox & Klinger, 1988). It is important to note that although drinking motives impact undergraduate alcohol behavior (Kuntsche et al., 2005) the relationship between motives and drinking appears to be less robust in college compared to adolescent samples.

Gender Differences in the Associations Among Stress, Drinking Motives, & Alcohol Misuse

Put differently, by enhancing interactions with peers and especially friends, drinking to socialize may serve as a means of coping with stress by providing a distraction or creating opportunities to gain social support. If replicated in other studies, the link between normative stress and social motives may require a reconceptualization of social motives. 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.

In contrast, however, a comparison of the social networks of newly married couples found that heavy drinkers, regardless of gender, reported similar levels of drinking among their peers (Leonard et al., 2000). When exploring the potential bidirectional effects of alcohol misuse longitudinally from adolescence to early adulthood, differences again emerged between men and women. For men, frequent drunkenness predicted occupational (but not relationship) stress in early adulthood, but, for women, there were no significant relations between adolescent drunkenness and either stressor. This indicates that a bidirectional relationship between alcohol misuse and occupational stress may be present, at least for men. The relation between adolescent alcohol misuse and occupational stress is consistent with the idea that problematic patterns early in life interfere with subsequent functioning (Caspi, Bem, & Elder, 1989; Rutter, 2013).

Associated Data

Future research directions in gender-specific stress responses should focus on developing more tailored interventions, understanding the long-term health implications of different stress responses, and exploring how changing gender roles in society might influence stress experiences. This kind of binge drinking can lead some down a path toward alcohol use disorder, a condition characterized by uncontrolled drinking and preoccupation with alcohol. But who ends up with the condition is down to a complex mix of factors, including genetics, environmental factors, and occupational stress. Part of the problem in teasing out these risk factors is the research into alcohol use tends to be split along gender lines — most of it stress drinking has a gender divide is in men.

School of Public Health and Health Professions

• Stress drinking, defined as the consumption of alcohol as a means to cope with stress, is a widespread phenomenon that affects both men and women.
• Although the stress-exposure model of alcohol misuse posits that the experience of stress leads to alcohol misuse, it is also possible that alcohol misuse increases subsequent stress exposure.
• This week, her team published a study in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors specifically looking at differences in who men and women use alcohol when they are under stress.
• Studies of subjective emotion experience find that women report greater sadness (Brebner, 2003; Fischer et al., 2004) and anxiety/fear (Feingold, 1994; Fischer et al., 2004; Ollendick et al., 1995) than men.
• Her findings suggest a key difference in how men and women consume alcohol — at least under certain conditions.
• A cocktail we order at the bar or a beverage we buy at the store may not always be equal to one standard drink.

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. Both for men and for women, problem drinkers had significantly more exposure to each of the social influence and stressor situations except health problems and death of someone close. It can be triggered by various factors, from work pressures to personal relationships, and even societal expectations. The importance of understanding gender differences in stress response cannot be overstated, as it plays a crucial role in developing effective stress management strategies and improving overall health outcomes. Correlations were performed to ascertain the relationship among subjective emotion, behavioral and bodily responses, HR, BP, and craving in the stress and alcohol-cue conditions, separately for males and females.

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).

‘Men’s drinking is more forgivable’: Why it’s harder for women to give up alcohol

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.

On a day prior to the laboratory sessions, participants were brought into the testing room in order to acclimate them to study procedures (e.g., rating forms) and to train them in imagery and relaxation, as described in Sinha (2001b) and Sinha et al. (2003). If they had difficulty imagining these situations clearly (i.e., they rated the scene’s clarity below 7 on a scale from 1 to 10), further training was given. There aren’t enough studies on whether women drink more when they’re advertised lady-friendly booze, but underage drinking, which is better studied, does have a relationship to advertising. “Alcohol marketing plays a causal role in young people’s decisions to drink, and to drink more,” says David Jernigan, a health-policy professor at Boston University. Cultural norms and their influence on stress-related alcohol use vary widely across different societies and ethnic groups. In some cultures, drinking is an integral part of social interactions and stress relief, while in others, it may be strictly regulated or even prohibited.

“I didn’t think I was bad enough to need help until I got anxiety attacks after drinking,” says Vanstone, a former binge-drinker. With that in mind, you’d think women would be the first to get help to control problem drinking. We recently launched our in-app chatbot, Melody, powered by the world’s most powerful AI technology.