ARE EMOTIONAL DISTRESS AND ALCOHOL-PROBLEMS DIFFERENTIAL OUTCOMES TO STRESS - AN EXPLORATORY TEST

A critical factor in interpreting gender differences in mental health is whether men and women respond to stressors with different outcomes. This study compares men and women who become divorced with those who remain married over a three- to five-year period. Men experiencing mar ital dissolution have elevated rates of alcohol problems but not distr ess while women in comparable situations report more distress but not more alcohol problems. These findings provide some support for the ide a that males develop alcohol-related disorders in response to circumst ances that lead females to become distressed.