Gender role conflict and sex-specific drinking norms: Relationships to alcohol use in undergraduate women and men

Drinking motivations among undergraduates were examined with a 76-item questionnaire administered to 640 undergraduates, (53%) female and (47%) male. The questionnaire contained four sections: sociodemographic information, alcohol use and perceived drinking norms, drinking consequences, and the Gender Role Conflict Scale (GRCS) (O' Neil et al., 1986). Findings from the canonical correlation analysis suggest undergraduate alcohol use in both sexes was best explained by same-sex, peer drinking norms. Gender role conflict and sociodemographic variables had substantially weaker associations with drinking behavior. The findings provide further theoretical support for interventions seeking to change campus drinking norms and suggest that normative feedback should be sex specific.