Surveys and studies have repeatedly demonstrated that male drinkers are at higher risk than female drinkers for developing AUDs (WHO, 1999). For example, the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS) estimates that during the course of their life, approximately 12.5% of men and 6.4% of women will meet diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse. Furthermore, 20.1% of men will meet full criteria for dependence, while only 8.2% of women will endorse symptoms necessary for diagnosis (Kessler et al., 1994). Results from the National Longitudinal Alcoholic Epidemiological Survey (NLAES) mirror the gender discrepancies for lifetime prevalence rates with 18.6% of men versus 8.4% of women meeting criteria for alcohol dependence (Grant, 1997). Similar to theories suggested for age-related differences, consistent differences in alcohol use for men and women are believed to result from the culmination of social and biological factors related to drinking and drunkenness described in detail elsewhere (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2004; Nolen-Hoeksema & Hilt, 2006).
