Sex differences in drinking among medical students: patterns and psychosocial correlates

Societal changes in sex roles have led to an increased interest in the comparative drinking behaviors of men and women and in their psychosocial antecedents. The differential prevalence and psychosocial correlates of alcohol consumption in a cohort of 107 men and 46 women first-year medical students are addressed. Self-report questionnaires assessed quantity, frequency and variability in the consumption of beer, wine and distilled spirits; early parent-child relationships; internal-external locus of control; interpersonal dependency; social supports; and depressive symptomatology. From analyses of variance, the data show that the men consume beer more frequently and in greater quantities. The sexes do not differ in the consumption of wine or distilled spirits. In addition, several psychosocial variables relate to drinking patterns in opposite directions for men and women. Heavier drinking among women is significantly associated with perceived childhood parental warmth and low depressive symptomatology. The opposite is true for men, although these relationships are much weaker. Future research should address sex differences in the symbolic meaning and implications of alcohol use in different socioeconomic and occupational groups.