Research has found that some of the key gender differences in relapse risk are related to psychological states, exposure to stressors, and characteristics of interpersonal relationships. For example, both Walitzer and Dearing (2006) and Zywiak et al. (2006) noted that women were more likely than men to relapse when experiencing negative affect and interpersonal conflict. On the other hand, men were more likely than women to relapse in reaction to isolation and certain personality traits (e.g., extraversion). Among other findings, depression levels in women and anxiety levels in men each predicted relapse for the respective gender (Oliva et al., 2018), whereas higher lifetime trauma experiences and current trauma symptoms were associated with higher risk of relapse in women only (Heffner et al., 2011). Moos et al. (2006) found that lower depression levels, fewer chronic stressors, and more overall social resources predicted stable remission from AUD for men. Interestingly, being married has been identified as a relapse risk factor for women but a protective factor for men (Walitzer and Dearing, 2006).
