If stressed, men more likely than women to crave alcohol: study
Last Updated: Monday, May 12, 2008 | 7:31 PM ET
CBC News
When it comes to stress, women are more likely to be depressed and anxious, while men are more apt to turn to the bottle, suggests a new study.
Men who become upset are more likely to develop cravings for alcohol and develop alcohol-related disorders, say researchers at Yale University.
The study was published online Sunday in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
"Following a stressful experience, women are more likely than men to say that they feel sad or anxious, which may lead to risk for depression and anxiety disorders," said Tara Chaplin, associate research scientist at Yale, in a release.
"Some studies have found that men are more likely to drink alcohol following stress than women. If this becomes a pattern, it could lead to alcohol-use disorders."
Researchers conducted a study in which 54 healthy adult social drinkers split evenly between men and women were read various scripts based on experiences in their lives such as relationship breakdowns and job losses. One script focused on a stressful event, another was alcohol-related, and a third was neutral and relaxing.
Participants' emotional responses to the scenarios were observed, such as their behaviour — whether they showed such responses such as twitching or muscles spasms, or had quickened breathing or yawning. Their heart rates and blood pressure were also monitored and their self-reported cravings for alcohol noted.
Researchers found women were more responsive to the stressful scenarios than men, reporting more feelings of sadness and anxiety. The men, on the other hand, were more likely to experience cravings for alcohol.
"Men's tendency to crave alcohol when upset may be a learned behaviour or may be related to known gender differences in reward pathways in the brain," said Chaplin. "And this tendency may contribute to risk for alcohol-use disorders."
She also points out that anxiety and sadness are more accepted by society in women than in men.
