Gender differences in alcohol beliefs and usual blood-alcohol concentration

The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate how males and females exp ress alcohol-related beliefs differently, and (2) to assess, by gender, whe ther particular beliefs are associated with levels of blood-alcohol concent ration. Fifty-nine male and 65 female high school students from a rural Mic higan county were interviewed in the winter of 1995 and oral accounts of th eir beliefs about moderate and heavy drinking and their usual blood-alcohol concentration (per typical drinking episode) were obtained. Results indica te that most heavy-drinking males believe that alcohol makes them lose phys ical and emotional control but a few believe they are in control of their b ehavior regardless of heavy drinking. Females who abstain or are light drin kers believe heavy alcohol use will lead to negative consequences. Since ma ny of the alcohol beliefs that indicate negative consequences can be interp reted as stereotypically male "acting out" behaviors, males tend to see the se negative effects as less consequential than females. Thus, believing tha t drinking has negative effects is a predictor of a female's drinking statu s, but not of male drinking status.