Gender and alcohol use: the roles of social support, chronic illness, and psychological well-being

Men and women differ in their use of alcohol, in their rates of chronic illnesses and psychological symptoms, and in the social support they receive. In this paper, we assess how the latter three factors are associated with alcohol use, and how these associations differ by gender. Respondents were 3,074 male and 3,947 female randomly selected Health Maintenance Organization members who responded to a mail survey in 1990. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicate that social support is associated with alcohol consumption in similar ways for both genders, yet the associations between some demographic, physical health/functioning, and psychological well-being measures are different for men and women. Men with fewer role limits due to physical health drank more, while women with better psychological well-being drank less. Poor psychological well-being may be a modifiable risk factor for increased alcohol use among women; practitioners should be alert for greater consumption among men with few functional limitations and good health.