Although less research has been conducted investigating gender differences among youth, some findings among adolescent populations do not parallel adult gender patterns. Chen, Grube, and Madden (1994) assessed the beliefs and drinking patterns of 1,781 high school students to determine whether the structure of alcohol expectancies and their relation to alcohol involvement differed for boys and girls. Results indicated very similar patterns regarding the impact of alcohol expectancies on use across gender. Beliefs about alcohol were most predictive of usual quantity consumed per drinking occasion and less predictive of drinking frequency. More specifically, positive expectancies predicted quantity over frequency for both sexes. Although the factor structure of alcohol expectancies is similar for boys and girls (Chen et al, 1994; Randolph, Gerend, & Miller, 2006), negative expectancies are more predictive of usual quantity consumed than drinking frequency for male adolescents. In contrast, negative expectancies are equally predictive of drinking quantity and frequency among female students.
