Nonmedical use of prescription drugs in emerging adulthood: differentiating sex from gender

Abstract

Male–female variations in health-behavior continue to be of national and international significance with men generally being more likely to be engaged in behaviors that enhance risk across an array of preventable diseases and injuries as well as premature deaths. The literature has identified nonmedical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) as a developing and particularly dangerous substance use behavior among college students. The literature has reported sex differences (male; female) in NMUPD but has yet to explain how gender orientation (e.g. masculine, feminine) might impact NMUPD. The purpose of this study is to address this gap by examining the influence of gender-orientation on NMUPD. Using survey data collected during the 2013–2014 academic year from a convenience sample of college students at a mid-sized Midwestern university, we examine the association of gender-orientation and NMUPD (N = 796). To do this, we separated masculine and feminine scales from the BEM Sex Role Inventory and used logistic regression to test whether masculine or feminine gender characteristics influenced the likelihood of NMUPD (lifetime measure of any use and by category). This analysis shows that self-identified characteristics associated with masculinity increase the odds of NMUPD, while femininity is associated with lower odds of NMUPD. Findings from this study increase our knowledge of gender orientation and sex interactions as factors that might influence NMUPD, thus demonstrating the importance of differentiating sex from gender-orientation.

Keywords:

• Gender
• gender orientation
• nonmedical use of prescription drugs
• college
• sex

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Notes

1 The survey was not advertised in “Distance Learning” courses because they typically enroll a high number of high-school students, and individuals under age 18 were ineligible for participation.