Work

The Gender Risk–Severity Paradox for Alcohol Use Disorder From Adolescence Through Young Adulthood

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: A large proportion of the public health costs of alcohol use disorder (AUD) can be accounted for by a small percentage of severe cases with a chronic course starting in adolescence and persisting into adulthood. However, chronicity may be a less effective marker of AUD severity in women than men due to a gender risk–severity paradox, wherein comparable levels of risk exposure yield more co-occurring problems for women than men with AUD. To model this paradox, we compared trajectories of alcohol and drug use problems, depression symptoms, and antisocial behavior from ages 17 to 29 in men and women with a persistent, desistent, or no history of AUD. Problems followed a quadratic trajectory (i.e., increases followed by decreases), with gender and AUD chronicity moderating age-related change. Specifically, persistent and desistent courses differentiated the severity of problems more effectively in men while chronicity had less utility for differentiating AUD severity in women.

Source: Emerging Adulthood

DOI: 10.1177/2167696817740453

Authors: Katherine T. Foster, Brian M. Hicks, C. Emily Durbin, William G. Iacono, Matt McGue

Institutions: University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota

Language: English

Topic: Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

Subfield: Epidemiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Drug Abuse