In sum, as suggested by research on gender and addiction, the GxExE findings identified here may be attributable to gender differences in the form and potency of mechanisms underlying disinhibition pathways to alcohol dependence. Men and women differ, on average, in the types of roles they occupy, the social norms associated with those roles, and social constraints and opportunities (Loscocco and Spitze 2007; Simon 1992, 1995). Consequently, etiological pathways involving interactions with the social environment cannot reasonably be assumed to be equal across gender. It may be that the environmental variables that are most likely to trigger or suppress the expression of genetic predisposition to disease are those that have the greatest significance for individuals, and these are likely to vary systematically by gender in our stratified society.
