Previous research has shown alcohol consumption among women has increased over the past three decades. There is also evidence feminine norms (“socially constructed beliefs about what it means to be a woman”) influence women’s drinking behavior. A new study examined the relationships among multidimensional feminine norms, binge drinking, and alcohol-related problems among collegiate women. The authors used Mahalik, et al.’s (2005) set of norms (focus on thinness, investment in appearance, sexual fidelity in a committed relationship, maintaining relationships, being sweet and nice, valuing romantic relationships, modesty, upholding domestic roles, and caring for children) to test whether these norms would account for differential alcohol-related outcomes, controlling for sorority membership, descriptive norms, and alcohol expectancies. Participants were 1,190 U.S. undergraduate women, 58.3% of whom identified as Asian American and 23.2% of whom belonged to a sorority. They reported their frequency of binge drinking within the past three months, alcohol-related problems, conformity to feminine norms, perceived peer alcohol consumption (descriptive norms), positive and negative alcohol expectancies, and demographic characteristics via a web-based survey. Respondents reported binge drinking, on average, 2.59 (SD = 5.49) times in the past three months and having 4.80 (SD = 7.76) alcohol-related problems in the past year. The authors analyzed survey data using negative binomial regression to create incidence rate ratios (IRRs), which were interpreted as a one-unit increase in the predictor representing a one-unit increase binge or alcohol-related problems. The model showed sorority membership (IRR = 1.63, p < 0.001), descriptive norms (IRR = 3.24, p <0.001), and positive alcohol expectancies (IRR = 1.03, p < 0.01) were significantly associated with binge drinking. After controlling for covariates, the norms of sexual fidelity (IRR = .87, p <.001), being sweet and nice (IRR = .93, p < .001), and upholding domestic roles (IRR = .96, p <.05) were negatively associated with binge drinking. The norms of importance of relationships (IRR = 1.09, p <.002) and investment in appearance (IRR = 1.08, p <. 001) were positively associated to the outcome. A second model revealed the norms of sexual fidelity (IRR = .91, p <. 001) and being sweet and nice (IRR = .96, p < 0.01) were negatively related to the probability of past-year alcohol-related problems, whereas the norm of investment in appearance (IRR = 1.06, p < 0.001) was positively related. Endorsement of these feminine norms was also found to have indirect effects on alcohol-related problems through binge drinking.
Take away: After controlling for covariates, endorsement of the norm of investment in appearance was positively related to binge drinking and alcohol-related problems, while endorsement of the norms of sexual fidelity and being sweet and nice were negatively associated with these outcomes.