Running Head: GENDER DIFFERENCES 1

Gender Differences
Haily Kudulis
Growing up in a generation where it is cool to get into or try drugs, it seems that
women are more likely to fall under the pressure of their peers because they want to be the
center of attention. Some women who strive to fit in and gain attention will do anything to
achieve that goal, such as giving into peer pressure, which can lead to drug use. According to
the American Psychological Association Women are more likely than men (28 percent vs. 20
percent) to report having a great deal of stress (American psychological, 2010, p.1). Stress
levels can be a factor in women being more likely to try drugs in order to relieve stress.
Hormones can also contribute to womens addiction being more severe, the estrogen levels are
what make the craving sensation that is present when a woman is using drugs. Another
contributing factor could be the size of women, since women are typically smaller than men.
Given these examples, some may argue that women get addicted to drugs easier than men.
What is addiction? The word addiction is derived from a Latin term for enslaved by
or bound to. Addiction exerts a long and powerful influence on the brain that manifests in
three distinct ways: craving for the object of addiction, loss of control over its use, and
continuing involvement with it despite adverse consequences.(Understanding Addiction).
Drugs have been around for a long time, but they were discovered in the early 1900s. Where
there were drugs, there was addiction, but addiction has outstandingly skyrocketed since the
2000s. Drug use is on the rise in this country and 23.5 million Americans are addicted to
alcohol and drugs. Thats approximately one in every 10 Americans over the age of 12 roughly
GENDER DIFFRENCES 2
equal to the entire population of Texas. said Dr. Kima Joy Taylor, director of the CATG Initiative
(New Data, 2009). As time passes and the world evolves, humans learn new things. It is the
same with drugs, such as finding new substances and making them more intense. What comes
along with that is risk of drug addiction and alcohol worsening over the years.
As time passes, teenage girls are more likely to experiment with substances such as,
marijuana, alcohol, and cigarettes, all at higher rates than boys. In 2006 a man named John
Walters did a national survey on drug use. He found that 1.5 million girls ages 12 to 17
started drinking alcohol in 2004That compares with 1.28 million boys. The survey also found
that those in the same age group that 730,000 girls started smoking cigarettes, compared
with 565,000 boys, and 675,000 girls starting using marijuana, compared with 577,000
boys..(Associated press, 2006).
Women use drugs for different reasons than men according to the CASA (National
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse) The reason may be hormonal or psychological,
according to ongoing research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Males and females
abuse drugs for different reasons. For example, teenage girls are more likely than boys to
abuse substances in order to lose weight, relieve stress or boredom, improve their mood,
reduce sexual inhibitions, self-medicate depression, and increase confidence (Wanjek, 2006).
Though girls use drugs for those reasons, boys are more likely to use drugs for social reasons,
A study conducted in 2009 found that teenage girls are more likely to self-medicate with
drugs in times of high stress and anxiety, whereas teenage boys reported drug use as a social
activity. (Bryan, 2010). Therefor women typically have more reasons to use drugs than men.
GENDER DIFFRENCES 3
In 1997 a study was conducted about the differences in males and females during the
time of their drug addiction. The results said that there were a higher percentage of men using
drugs than women, 8.5% to 4.5% (Anderson, 1997, p. 1). The only problem with Andersons
work is that it was done in 1997, so it doesnt have the most up to date statistics. In the study
women became more addicted than men, and at a faster rate. Anderson wanted to look more
into her research and came to the conclusion that there was a psychological reason behind it.
Anderson said, There is growing evidence that drug abuse manifests itself differently in the
lives of males and females and that this has something to do with the gender based social
organization of societies and cultures. (Anderson, 1997, p. 3). This reinforces that women have
a different idea of wanting to fit in, and how important it is to them.
There are many different things separating males and females from one another, things
such as facial hair, fat distribution, vocal differences, and hand size. Most of these differences
are because of hormones. The chemicals that are in our blood are what develop the body, and
can sometimes influence the way people think. A journal in the Trends in Pharmacological
Sciences did research on a series of tests on laboratory animals. Their studies showed that
female animals are more aware of the rewarding properties of drugs, and that estrogen is the
likely cause. Studies like these states that estrogen wakes up receptors for drugs inside the
brain, and when these receptors are awakened, theyre able to transmit rapid and profound
signals of pleasure. The brain is designed to take note of intensely pleasurable signals and to
seek them out again. If estrogen allows a womans body to feel greater levels of bliss, a woman
might be more likely to develop an addiction, as her brain is flooded by more signals, and it
creates more cravings.
GENDER DIFFRENCES 4
There was an experiment done with rats by the Neuroscience Research Institute where
they tested different rats for their addiction levels to cocaine. The institute came to the
conclusion that The main finding of the present study is that female rats choose cocaine over
food significantly more often than males. The present study provides the first examination of
the effects of sex, ovariectomy, and estrogen on choice between cocaine and food. During
discrete trials, at the low dose of cocaine, males exhibit a clear preference for food
reinforcement, whereas females respond for food and cocaine at an approximately equal level.
At the higher dose of cocaine, males maintain a food preference, whereas females display a
cocaine preference. Furthermore, both sexes were able to track reinforcers when the lever
reinforcer was reversed, indicating that the behavior was directed at obtaining a specific
reinforcer rather than habitual responding. (Ballis, M., Behrens, A., Carr, A., Duffin-Lutgen, S.,
Kerstetter, K., & Kippin, T., 2012). In a more simple language, the cocaine had a stronger effect
on the female rats than the male rats, making the females choose the cocaine over the food
more often than the males did.
The average woman is typically smaller than the average man; they weigh less, their
bones are lighter, and they tend to be shorter than men. Men and women may be considered
equal under law, but there are, of course, differences. Among them is size. Men, on average,
are about 15 percent to 20 percent larger than women. (Onion, 2008) Smaller people taking
drugs, who take the same amount of dosage as bigger people, can overwhelm their bodies.
Drugs tend to cause more damage in higher doses and alter brain chemistry, resulting in
compulsive behaviors. Since most women are smaller, the drugs could have a stronger effect on
them since drugs are made different for men and women. As a result, men and women might
GENDER DIFFRENCES 5
be taking the same amount of drugs when they do take them, but women might be taking in
more toxins with each and every dose they put into their bodies.
There is an article that says men are more likely to become addicts than women. It
states Men are more likely than women to become addicted to drugs, alcohol and gambling
but the same addictions among females are usually more severe while 80 percent of the
countrys addicts were males, the research found that the compulsive addictions amongst
females were far more deeply rooted and serious than among the men (Eglash, 2011).
Though they try to state men are more likely to become addicted to drugs than women,
throughout the article they give no statistics or facts to support their claims, and makes it
sound more of an opinion. They also said with the research they found, females had a
stronger addiction when it came to substance abuse.
Women are likely to develop depression, anxiety and eating disorders that are closely
linked to smoking, alcohol, and drug abuse. When they use sedatives, anti-anxiety drugs, or
hypnotics, they are almost twice as likely as men to become addicted to such drugs. Even
though these risks can happen to men as well, women smokers develop more severe
respiratory diseases than men, and also found that smoking in early adolescence increases the
risk of breast cancer. Yes, these are risks for not only women but men as well. Since women
have a higher chance of becoming drug addicts and should take the risks into considerations
before trying to be cool and doing it to fit in with the crowd. Thinking of over more creative
outlets for stress or self-consciousness would benefit women at risk for drug abuse.

GENDER DIFFRENCES 6
Reference List
Anderson, T. (1997). Drug Use and Gender. Udel.
http://www.udel.edu/soc/tammya/pdfs/Drug%20Use%20and%20Gender.pdf.
American psychological association. (2010). Stress in America. American psychological
association. http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2010/gender-stress.aspx.
Associated Press. (2006). Girls using drugs, alcohol more than boys. NBC news.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/11259729/#.UrE0s_RDunJ.
Ballis, M., Behrens, A., Carr, A., Duffin-Lutgen, S., Kerstetter, K., Kippin, T. (2012). Sex
differences in selecting between food and cocaine. Neuropsychopharmacology.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/pmc/?cmd=Search&term=0893-
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Bryan, K., (2010). How parents can help keep teen sons off drugs. Fyi living.
http://fyiliving.com/mental-health/depression/adolescent-and-teen/how-parents-can-
help-keep-teen-sons-off-drugs/.
Carroll, M., Cosgrove, K., Lynch, W., Morgan, A., & Roth, M. (2004). Sex and estrogen influence
drug abuse. Sciencedirect, Volume 25 (Issue 5), 273-279.
http://www.sciencedirect.com.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/science/article/pii/S016561470400091
4.

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Eglash, R. (2011). Men more likely to become addicts than women. The Jerusalem post.
http://www.jpost.com/Health-and-Science/Men-more-likely-to-become-addicts-than-
women.
Ho, I., & Lee, C. (2013). Sex differences in opioid analgesia and addiction: Interactions among
opioid receptors and estrogen receptors. Molecular Pain.
http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/ehost/detail?vid=9&sid=5d476730-47ac-
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New Data Show Millions of Americans with Alcohol and Drug Addiction Could Benefit from
Health Care. Drug free. http://www.drugfree.org/untaxed/new-data-show-millions-of.
Onion, A. (2008). Are men that much bigger than women? Abc news.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=97579.
Understanding addiction. Help guide.
http://www.helpguide.org/harvard/addiction_hijacks_brain.htm.
Wanjek, C. (2006). Women get drunk, high and addicted easier than men. Live science.
http://www.livescience.com/780-women-drunk-high-addicted-easier-men.html.