The male role, alcohol use, and alcohol problems: A structural modeling examination in adult women and men

Most research on sex differences in alcohol involvement suggests that drink ing is a component of the male gender role, but the impact of specific male role factors on alcohol involvement has not yet been studied. The authors used structural modeling to examine the relationships among 3 male role var iables (agency, traditional male role attitudes, and masculine gender role stress), alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related problems in a sample of w omen and men. To determine whether sex moderates this relationship, models were computed separately for men and women. For men, traditional attitudes led to more alcohol consumption, whereas agentic traits protected them from experiencing alcohol-related problems, and experiencing masculine gender r ole stress was a risk factor for these problems. Male role variables were u nrelated to women's alcohol consumption, but women who believed more in the traditional role of men suffered from more alcohol-related problems. Discu ssion centers on the contribution of components of the male role on alcohol outcomes as well as the different implications for men and women.