An Epidemiological Investigation of Male-Female Differences in Drinking and Drinking-Related Problems between US-Born and Foreign-Born Latino and Asian Americans
Background. It has been widely documented that males were more likely to drinking alcohol and have alcohol use disorders (AUD). The degrees of the male-female differences in drinking and AUD have varied across countries. The reasons behind these variations have not been fully understood. The current study compared the estimated male-female differences across US-born and foreign-born Latino and Asian Americans with respect to alcohol drinking behavior and AUD. Method. Data come from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), a national household survey of adults with Latinos and Asian decent in the United States. Male-female differences were estimated for drinking behavior and AUD among drinkers for US-born and foreign-born individuals, respectively. Zero-inflated Poisson regressions were utilized to estimate male-female differences in the number of AUD clinical features once it occurs. Results. Larger male-female differences were found for foreign-born individuals as compared to US-born individuals, especially the occurrence of AUD among drinkers. Once AUD clinical feature occurs, there was no male-female difference for foreign-born individuals, while there was a males excess in the number of clinical features for US-born individuals. Conclusion. Results from this study supports the importance of sociocultural influence in drinking and AUD. Implications for prevention and intervention programs were discussed. 1. Introduction Worldwide, it has been extensively documented that alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorders (AUD) are more common in males as compared to females [1–6]. The reason of this male-female difference is both biological and sociocultural. Biological factors include differences in average volume of body water where ethanol can be distributed, levels of enzymes and their activities to metabolize ethanol, neurotransmitters and receptors through which ethanol affects the brain, and others [7–10]. Sociocultural factors include different levels of stigma attached to female drinking, social expectation toward different gender roles, alcohol availability, and others [11–13]. That is, drinking has been used as a way to express masculinity among males. In contrast, the traditional role for female is family-oriented. Also, female drinking has been associated with higher vulnerability of sexual assault [14, 15]. Thus, female drinking is discouraged socially due to the fear that it may interfere with their responsibilities [15]. These factors interplay with each other leading to the observed male-female differences in drinking and the
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