Young men and women who exhibit stereotypical masculine traits might be more at risk of abusing prescription drugs, according to a University of Akron study.
The research may be the first to examine how drug abuse correlates to masculinity and femininity.
The data suggests personality traits associated with gender should be taken into greater consideration to prevent and counter addiction.
“The goal was to try to explain why we see differences between males and females in terms of risk for use and abuse,” said Robert Peralta, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Akron. “In sociology, we like to acknowledge the reality of gender as a social construct and phenomenon that’s separate and different from biological sex. This was really a first attempt ... to see if there was risk associated with gender identity.”
However, researchers cautioned the study was not compiled nationally.
Peralta hopes the study will prompt more investigation into the subject.
“We’ve identified the traits,” he said, “but now we need some more understanding of why that’s going on here.”
Breanna Stewart, a UA doctoral candidate who contributed to the study, agreed.
“We’ve seen pretty frequently that sex is not enough to explain these deviant behaviors,” she said. “Since there’s literature that says masculinity and femininity manifest differently [than sex], it’s important to consider those when we’re considering behavior that puts people at risk.”
The study, published recently in the academic journal Addiction Research & Theory, was conducted at an undisclosed Midwestern university by researchers from the University of Akron, Ohio University’s Lancaster campus and Morgan State University in Baltimore.
Tallying responses
In a survey, students in Introduction to Sociology classes self-reported their nonmedical use of various prescription drugs. Then they rated how they identified with 30 personality traits using a seven-point scale. In total, responses were tallied from 796 students, mostly college freshmen.
Certain traits were labeled by researchers as more masculine or feminine, according to the Bem Sex Role Inventory, a largely respected tool that measures gender orientation.
The more “masculine” traits include assertiveness, dominance and independence; “feminine” traits include empathy, compassion and expressiveness. Several “neutral” traits were listed as well, such as reliability, jealousy and tactfulness.
The participants’ sexuality was not examined as part of the survey.
Peralta, the UA researcher, said stereotypically masculine people tend to show greater levels of risk-taking, competitiveness and perceived toughness — which could result in drug use due to peer pressure or injury.
More than a third of more masculine students said they abused prescription drugs at some point in their lives, compared to a quarter of the more feminine students. Feminine men and women were more common in the study than their masculine counterparts.
Overall, three in every 10 students said they misused prescription drugs, with Adderall most rampant, followed by Vicodin.
Reba McCray, a recovering addict who now works for Oriana House as a recovery coach, said the study’s findings make sense.
“The people who are more dominant tend to be more pushy and forceful,” she said. “They’re able to get prescription drugs from doctors easier than I ever could.”
She said many of the addicts she sees every day exhibit those same traits.
“It does make sense,” she said.
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ.