Khairallah, Taleb S

McCarthy, Denis M

Treloar, Hayley R

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Washington University School of MedicineDigital Commons@BeckerPosters2010: Disentangling the Genetics of Alcoholism:Understanding Pathophysiology and ImprovingTreatment2010The influence of gender role adherence on alcoholuse and problemsTaleb S. KhairallahUniversity of Missouri - ColumbiaHayley R. TreloarUniversity of Missouri - ColumbiaDenis M. McCarthyUniversity of Missouri - ColumbiaFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/guzeposter2010Part of the Medicine and Health Sciences CommonsThis Poster is brought to you for free and open access by the 2010: Disentangling the Genetics of Alcoholism: Understanding Pathophysiology andImproving Treatment at Digital Commons@Becker. It has been accepted for inclusion in Posters by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Becker. For more information, please contact engeszer@wustl.edu.Recommended CitationKhairallah, Taleb S.; Treloar, Hayley R.; and McCarthy, Denis M., "The influence of gender role adherence on alcohol use andproblems" (2010). Posters. Paper 19 Samuel B. Guze Symposium on Alcoholism.http://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/guzeposter2010/19      Introduction  College students abuse alcohol at higher rates than their non-college cohort (Johnston et al., 2002).  Alcohol abuse is associated with increased risk for fatalities, assaults, serious injuries, and arrests (Turrisi et al., 2006)..  Approximately 75% of college men and 55% of college women drink heavily, and 20-25% of heavy drinking students experience a wide range of drinking-related problems at some point during their college years (Yu, Evans, & Perfetti, 2003).  Heavy episodic drinking by college women is correlated with an increased risk for sexual assault (Abbey et al., 2001; Ullman et al., 1999), a variety of psychological problems including depression (Beckman & Ackerman, 2006), and an impaired assessment of associated risks (Spigner, Hawkins & Loren, 1993).  Compared to female counterparts, college men report consuming higher quantities of alcohol per episode and experiencing more negative consequences including hangovers, property damage, disputes between friends, and engaging in unplanned sexual activity (Perkins, 2002).  The association between gender and alcohol use has been well documented in previous research.      However, the mechanisms underlying this association have not been studied systematically.  Research Question Which aspects of conformity to masculine and feminine gender norms are associated with problematic drinking behaviors and negative consequences in mandated college students? Method Participants  Participants consisted of 322 students at a large Midwestern public university who were sanctioned to participate in an alcohol intervention program for violations of college alcohol policy or legal infractions.   The majority of the participants was male, Caucasian, under 21 years of age, non-Greek affiliated/ independent, and lived in the residence halls.  Please refer to table 1 for participant demographic information.  Materials  Alcohol problems were measured using the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI).  Alcohol quantity and frequency of use were taken  from the first 2 questions on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT).   For this study, α levels for the RAPI and the AUDIT were .87 and .71 respectively.  The Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI) was used to  assess adherence to masculine ideology. For this study, α levels for the 11 CMNI subscales ranged from .60 to .91.  The Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory (CFNI) was used to assess adherence to feminine ideology. For this study, α levels for the 8 feminine norms subscales ranged from .77 to .95.    Procedure Participants completed the alcohol survey information as a component of their alcohol intervention requirement during the first meeting.  There was no penalty for declining to participate or for withdrawing from the gender survey portion.  Participants received a $10 gift certificate in exchange for completion of the gender-related survey.   Participants who completed the study were not significantly different from non-completers in gender, age, race, year in school, Greek status, housing, alcohol use frequency or quantity, or alcohol problems.    Data Analysis  Bivariate two-tailed Pearson correlations were calculated to determine the relation between participants’ alcohol-related behaviors and problems to the CMNI and CFNI subscale and total scores.  Correlation results are reported in Table 2 with significance indicated at p <.05 or p <.01.    Path analyses were used to test the unique association of each gender inventory full scale and subscales with alcohol problems, drinking frequency, and drinking quantity using Mplus.   Discussion  This exploratory study examined how conformity to gender norms might be associated with alcohol-related behaviors and problems.  Our findings suggest that adherence to masculinity presented with heightened risk for alcohol use and problems while adherence to femininity presented with a mix of risk and protective effects.  Specific subscales on each gender measure clarified the nature and direction of the association between gender and alcohol use and problems.  These findings suggest that this area of exploration is warranted and that further research on alcohol use and gender norm adherence appears indicated.       For women, pursuing a thin body ideal and committing resources to maintaining and improving physical appearance appeared to result in increased risk.  On the other hand, a focus on developing friendly and supportive relationships with others, maintaining the home, and keeping sexual intimacy contained within one committed relationship appeared to result in decreased risk.  These findings suggest that women’s body image concerns appear to increase risk while a focus on relationships and “relational” sexuality may provide a protective effect against alcohol use and associated problems.  It is worth noting that female college students with increased levels of alcohol use appear less likely to value sexual fidelity which may place them at increased risk for sexual assault and rape.   For men, preference for emotional control and an orientation towards risk taking and violence resulted in increased risk for alcohol use and problems.  These findings suggest that these men are likely to drink more and to experience greater problems due to their drinking but are less likely to talk about these problems.  The relation between these variables is an important consideration for providing alcohol interventions with men who are more likely to be resistive.  As such, interventions based on motivational interviewing techniques may prove useful.  In addition, campus officials may need to consider the importance of implementing a referral system since men are more likely to resist seeking services on their own.    Additionally, men’s views of sexuality, dominance towards women, and homonegativity further contribute to their risk profile.  In fact, The CMNI Playboy scale (non-relational sexuality and interest in multiple partners) appeared to account for most of the increases in risk.  This is especially relevant since George and Stoner (2000) found that intoxicated men tend to falsely perceive cues of sexual advances from women.  These findings suggest that gender conforming men may be at greater risk to commit sexual assault or rape than their gender non-conforming counterparts.  As such, alcohol interventions with men may benefit from integrating violence and sexual assault prevention into their curriculum.     Given the exploratory nature of this study, several limitations exist.  For example, our sample consisted of men and women who were mandated to an alcohol intervention.  As such, our population may be more likely to engage in risky behaviors that led to their referral.  Further investigation of the relationship between conformity to gender norms and non-referred college students’ alcohol related behaviors and problems is needed.  In addition, one recommended area of research would be to examine how conformity to gender norms may affect the effectiveness of alcohol interventions by relating outcomes to differential degree of adherence to gender norms. Supported by NIAAA Grant T32 AA 13526; PI Ken Sher      The Influence of Gender Role Adherence on Alcohol Use and Problems                                    Taleb S. Khairallah, Hayley R. Treloar & Denis M. McCarthy                                                                 University of Missouri Results Relations to Alcohol Use and Problems Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory  Nice in Relationships, Sexual Fidelity, and Domestic subscales were all significantly negatively related to at least one drinking variable, suggesting that adherence to these femininity norms is a protective factor against alcohol use and alcohol-related problems.     In contrast, the Thinness and Invest in Appearance subscales were significantly positively associated with at least one drinking variable, suggesting that adherence to these femininity norms is a risk factor for increased alcohol use and alcohol-related problems.  Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory  Emotional Control, Risk-Taking, Violence, Power Over Women, Playboy, and Disdain for Homosexuality subscales were all significantly positively related to at least one drinking variable, suggesting that adherence to these masculinity norms is a risk factor for increased alcohol use and alcohol-related problems.   The remaining subscales were not significantly related to any drinking variables and were excluded from further study analyses.    Path Analyses  Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory All CFNI subscales that were correlated with drinking were entered in a model predicting frequency and quantity of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems.    Seventeen percent of the variance in frequency of alcohol use could be accounted for by these Femininity norms subscales (R2 = .17, p < .05).  Nice Relationships and Invest in Appearance were no longer significant predictors of alcohol use frequency.  Sexual Fidelity and Domestic remained significant (β = -.24, p < .05; β = -.21, p < 05, respectively).    Eighteen percent of the variance in quantity of alcohol use could be accounted for by these subscales (R2 = .18, p < .01).   Nice relationships and Sexual Fidelity were no longer significant predictors of alcohol use quantity.  Thinness and Domestic remained significant (β = .22, p < .05; β = .23, p < .05, respectively).    Finally, entered simultaneously, the subscales did not account for a significant proportion of variance in alcohol-related problems (R2 = .09, p = .09).    Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory All CMNI subscales, that were correlated with drinking, were entered in a model predicting frequency and quantity of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems.    Nine percent of the variance in frequency of alcohol use could be accounted for by these Masculinity norms subscales (R2 = .09, p < .05).  Playboy was the only masculinity subscale to uniquely predict drinking frequency (β = .16, p < .05).    Eight percent of the variance in quantity of alcohol use could be accounted for by these subscales (R2 = .08, p < .05).   As with frequency, Playboy was the only masculinity subscale to uniquely predict drinking quantity (β = .20, p < .05).    Ten percent of the variance in alcohol-related problems could be accounted for by these Masculinity norms subscales (R2 = .10, p < .05).  Power over Women and Playboy were the only subscales to uniquely predict alcohol-related problems (β = .14, p < .05; β = .16, p < .05, respectively). Table 1 Demographic Information of  BASICS Participants (N=322)  Gender      Women 32.90%    Men 67.10% Greek Status      Greek  28.90%    Independent  69.30%    Not identified 1.90% Race      African American 2.20%    Asian American 2.20%    Hispanic/Latino 1.60%    Caucasian 91.30%    Other  2.50%    Not identified 0.60% Age      Under 21 75.40%    Over 21 15.60% Year in School      Freshman 64.90%    Sophomore 14.90%    Junior 9.00%    Senior 8.10%    Grad 2.50%    Other 0.60% Housing Arrangement      Residence Halls 64.30%    Fraternity/Sorority 10.60%    Apartment/House 22.00%    At Home/ Family .95%    Not identified .95% Referral Source      Student Life 26.10%    Residential Life 61.20%    Other 12.80% Table 2   Correlations of CFNI and CMNI Total Scores and Subscales with Alcohol Use Fre-quency, Quantity, and Alcohol-related Problems   Alcohol Variables Scale Frequency Quantity Problems CFNI Nice in Relationships  -.19* -.20*  -.07 Thinness   .08  .23*   .21* Sexual Fidelity  -.31** -.27** -.20* Domestic  -.27** -.28**  -.07 Invest in Appearance   .19*  .09   .21* Total Conformity -.17 -.15  -.004 CMNI Emotional Control .16* .03 .11 Risk-Taking .19** .11 .18** Violence .16* .17* .19** Power Over Women .06 .07 .20** Playboy .23** .21** .24** Disdain for Homosexuals     -.04 .17* .01 Total Conformity .15* .18* .21** Note.  * p < .05.  ** p < .01. 

The influence of gender role adherence on alcohol use and problems

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The influence of gender role adherence on alcohol use and problems

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