Biomedical subjects

Gerhard Gmel

Publications and source records attributed to Gerhard Gmel.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Introduction to special issue 'Gender, Culture and Alcohol Problems: a Multi-national Study'.

This paper provides an introduction to a series of articles reporting results from the EU concerted action "Gender, Culture and Alcohol Problems: A Multi-national Study" which examined differences in drinking among women and men in 13 European and two non-European countries. The gender gap in alcohol drinking is one of the few universal gender differences in human social behavior. However, the size of these differences varies greatly from one society to another. The papers in this issue examine, across countries, (1) men's and women's drinking patterns, (2) the prevalence of men's and women's experience of alcohol-related problems, (3) gender differences in social inequalities in alcohol use and abuse, (4) gender differences in the influence of combinations of social roles on heavy alcohol use, and (5) how societal-level factors predict women's and men's alcohol use and problems on a regional and global level. Country surveys were independently conducted and then centralized at one institution for further data standardization and processing. Several results indicated that the greater the societal gender equality in a country, the smaller the gender differences in drinking behavior. In most analyses the smallest gender differences in drinking behaviour were found in Nordic countries, followed by western and central European countries, with the largest gender differences in countries with developing economies.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Drinking patterns and their gender differences in Europe.

AIMS: To compare drinking habits and to examine differences between drinking cultures in different regions and countries in Europe; to examine gender differences in drinking habits and to compare them over countries. METHODS: Data consisted of independently conducted, centrally analysed surveys in the general population aged 20-64 years in 14 European countries. Central measures were abstention, frequency and volume of drinking overall and by beverage type, amounts drunk per drinking day, and heavy episodic drinking. RESULTS: There were clear gender differences in all drinking measures, except for wine drinking. Differences between genders were often smaller than average in northern Europe. Gender ratios did not show systematic changes by age, with the exception that young men and women differed less than older men and women in the frequency of heavy episodic drinking. The results on beverage preferences indicate that the distinction among wine/beer/spirits cultures have implicitly been based on male drinking. Our expectation was for more daily light drinking integrated in everyday life in the Mediterranean countries, more heavy episodic drinking associated with weekends and celebrations in the North, with the traditional beer countries somewhere in between. The differences observed were usually in the direction expected. However, no country represented an ideal type of drinking culture, i.e. drinking for 'mood-changing effects' only or for 'nutritional purposes' only; all countries were mixtures of these two extremes. CONCLUSIONS: There were clear and consistent gender differences in all countries, while the differences in drinking between countries and regions were not as obvious.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Social inequalities in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems in the study countries of the EU concerted action 'Gender, Culture and Alcohol Problems: a Multi-national Study'.

AIMS: We investigated the presence of social inequalities of alcohol use and misuse using educational attainment as an indicator of socio-economic status in 15 countries: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Israel, Brazil, and Mexico. METHODS: Study surveys were independently conducted and the data centrally analysed. Most samples were national. Survey modes and sample sizes varied. The age range was restricted to between 25 and 59 years of age. Socio-economic status was measured by educational level. Multiple logistic regressions were employed to calculate age-adjusted odds ratios for men and women in each country by educational level for current drinking status, heavy drinking (>or=20 g ethanol per day for women, >or=30 g a day for men), heavy episodic (binge) drinking, and alcohol-related problems (using AUDIT). RESULTS: Men and women demonstrated similar patterns in inequalities with regard to current drinking status within a country. In Germany, The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, and Austria higher educated women were most likely to drink heavily, while among men the lower educated were more at risk in most countries. For heavy episodic drinking, almost no significant differences were evident among women, but for men a social gradient was observable with lower educated being more at risk in several countries. Among five countries with data from the AUDIT, men of lower education in Finland, Czech Republic, and Hungary had higher risks to report problems. Nordic countries shared a common pattern in social inequalities as did two Latin American countries, while a mixed picture was observed for middle European countries. Social inequalities in the two Latin American countries display a pattern emerging in other research on developing countries: namely that those in the higher educated groups are more likely to consume alcohol in a risky manner. CONCLUSIONS: Patterns in the distribution of social inequalities are not universal. Social inequalities in alcohol use differ by gender according to alcohol measure used and differ also across groups of countries. These variations should be taken into account when formulating international and cross-cultural alcohol policies.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Gender and cultural differences in the association between family roles, social stratification, and alcohol use: a European cross-cultural analysis.

AIMS: First, this paper investigates (i) gender differences in associations of social stratification, family roles, and heavy drinking, and (ii) country differences in these associations. Second, it seeks to explain country differences in the associations of social stratification and family roles with alcohol consumption by societal level variables. METHODS: Survey data of 25 to 49-years-old from eight European countries were used. Logistic regressions were used to analyse gender differences in the association between family roles (marriage, having children), social stratification (education, employment), and heavy drinking (>20 g/day for women; 30 g/day for men). Gender differences were tested by means of interactions between gender and social stratification/family roles. Structural measures of work desirability, social welfare, and gender equity were used to explain differences in associations across countries. RESULTS: The associations between social stratification, family roles, and heavy drinking varied across gender and countries. A country's social welfare system was associated with heavy drinking only among women. Women in countries with a strong social welfare system, such as Nordic countries, tended to drink more heavily if employed, having lower formal education, and a non-traditional family role. In countries with weak social welfare systems or work desirability, heavy drinking was associated with high education, while effects of family roles and employment were small. CONCLUSIONS: It appeared that the social welfare system and gender equity of a country determines to a large extent how education, employment, and family roles are associated with heavy drinking.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The influence of societal level factors on men's and women's alcohol consumption and alcohol problems.

AIMS: To identify the pattern of gender differences in drinking across societies, and to its association with other societal characteristics. METHODS: The aggregated results of GENACIS project surveys in 29 countries were examined and were compared with other characteristics of these societies. RESULTS: In all the participating societies men's drinking was more prevalent and heavier than women's drinking. Differences between countries in the gender gap in drinking were strongly associated with women's position in society, as well as with modernization. Similar results were obtained for indicators of alcohol's adverse consequences. CONCLUSIONS: Gender differences should be studied not only as individual behaviours, but also as societal traits, associated with other characteristics of the social system.

Alcohol Drinking↗