title: Undifferentiated Gender Role Orientation, Drinking Motives, and Increased Alcohol Use in Men and Women.
abstract: Alcohol misuse has historically affected men more than women. However, the differences in drinking behaviors across sex have steadily decreased over time and accumulating research suggests that gender role orientation, or culturally scripted gender-specific characteristics, and negative reinforcement drinking motives may better explain risk for alcohol use and related problems than sex.
  
  
  
  The current study tested a mediational model of the undifferentiated orientation (low masculinity and low femininity), an oft neglected orientation despite evidence that it could carry much weight in drinking behaviors, versus the other three gender role orientations, coping and conformity drinking motives, and hazardous alcohol use.
  
  
  
  Participants were 426 current drinkers over age 21 (41% men; 77.8% Caucasian; Mage= 34.5, range = 21-73) residing across the United States who completed an online survey.
  
  
  
  Structural equation modeling analyses suggested that individuals with an undifferentiated orientation (n = 99), compared to masculine (high masculinity, low femininity; n = 102), feminine (high femininity, low masculinity; n = 113), or androgynous (high masculinity, high femininity; n = 112) orientations, reported higher coping drinking motives, which were positively associated with levels of hazardous alcohol use. Although analyses suggested that undifferentiated individuals reported drinking for conformity motives more often than masculine and androgynous individuals, conformity motives were not associated with increased use. Conclusions/Importance: An undifferentiated gender role orientation may contribute a unique risk for alcohol use and related problems by increasing frequency of drinking to cope, a motive specifically associated with hazardous use trajectories.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychological Science , University of Arkansas , Fayetteville, Arkansas , USA.
authors.forename: Jessica L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Fugitt
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychological Science , University of Arkansas , Fayetteville, Arkansas , USA.
authors.forename: Lindsay S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Ham
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychological Science , University of Arkansas , Fayetteville, Arkansas , USA.
authors.forename: Ana J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bridges
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D057227:Femininity; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057228:Masculinity; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol use; conformity drinking motives; coping; drinking motives; gender role orientation; structural equation modeling; undifferentiated orientation