Teasing Apart the Roles of Gender and Alcohol in Drinking Consequences Using an Event-Level Analysis

Abstract

The objective was: to assess gender differences in university students' likelihood of experiencing negative drinking consequences across the first academic year, controlling for amount of alcohol consumed on each occasion; also to assess whether the relation between amount consumed and experiencing the consequence is moderated by gender. On weekly assessments over 26 weeks, first-year university students (N = 265; 177 women; M_age = 18.48) recorded number of drinks consumed and negative drinking consequences experienced each day. A greater percentage of men experienced at least one drinking consequence. However, when analyses focused on drinking occasions controlling for consumption, women were at greater risk for experiencing many drinking consequences including unplanned sex, injury, and memory lapses. Further, the likelihood of experiencing unprotected sex increased with greater alcohol consumption for women but not for men. A greater focus on risks for women is needed in understanding and preventing negative drinking consequences.

Keywords

Alcohol consumption negative drinking consequences university students gender differences

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