Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 May;7(5):2136-60.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph7052136. Epub 2010 May 4.

Gender differences in public and private drinking contexts: a multi-level GENACIS analysis

Jason C Bond  1 , Sarah C M Roberts, Thomas K Greenfield, Rachael Korcha, Yu Ye, Madhabika B Nayak
Affiliations

Gender differences in public and private drinking contexts: a multi-level GENACIS analysis

Jason C Bond et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2010 May.

Abstract

This multi-national study hypothesized that higher levels of country-level gender equality would predict smaller differences in the frequency of women's compared to men's drinking in public (like bars and restaurants) settings and possibly private (home or party) settings. GENACIS project survey data with drinking contexts included 22 countries in Europe (8); the Americas (7); Asia (3); Australasia (2), and Africa (2), analyzed using hierarchical linear models (individuals nested within country). Age, gender and marital status were individual predictors; country-level gender equality as well as equality in economic participation, education, and political participation, and reproductive autonomy and context of violence against women measures were country-level variables. In separate models, more reproductive autonomy, economic participation, and educational attainment and less violence against women predicted smaller differences in drinking in public settings. Once controlling for country-level economic status, only equality in economic participation predicted the size of the gender difference. Most country-level variables did not explain the gender difference in frequency of drinking in private settings. Where gender equality predicted this difference, the direction of the findings was opposite from the direction in public settings, with more equality predicting a larger gender difference, although this relationship was no longer significant after controlling for country-level economic status. Findings suggest that country-level gender equality may influence gender differences in drinking. However, the effects of gender equality on drinking may depend on the specific alcohol measure, in this case drinking context, as well as on the aspect of gender equality considered. Similar studies that use only global measures of gender equality may miss key relationships. We consider potential implications for alcohol related consequences, policy and public health.

Keywords: GENACIS; context of drinking; cross-national study; culture; economic development; gender equity; hierarchical linear models (HLM); on- and off-premises alcohol use.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Estimates of Frequency of Drinking in Public Venues for the Full Sample.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Estimates of Frequency of Drinking in Private Venues for the Full Sample.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Commission on Social Determinants of Health . Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health equity through action on the Social Determinants of Health Final report of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2008. p. 247.
    1. Sen G, Östlin P, George A. Unequal, Unfair, Ineffective and Inefficient Gender Inequity in Health: Why It Exists and How We Can Change It Final report to the WHO Commision on Social Determinants of Health. Women and Gender Equity Knowledge Network, World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2007. p. 127.
    1. Scott-Samuel A. Patriarchy, masculinities, and health inequalities. Gaceta Sanitaria. 2009;23:159–160. - PubMed
    1. Nathanson CA. Mortality and the position of women in developed countries. In: Lopez AD, Caselli G, Valkonen T, editors. Adult Mortality in Developed Countries: From Description to Explanation. Clarendon Press; Oxford, UK: 1995. pp. 135–157.
    1. Backhans MC, Lundberg M, Månsdotter A. Does increased gender equality lead to a convergence of health outcomes for men and women? A study of Swedish municipalities. Soc Sci Med. 2007;64:1892–1903. - PubMed

Publication types