The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

368 Chapter 10

the rate among 12- to 17-year-olds is higher

among females (8.2%) than males (7.0%). A

meta-analytic review of the relation of sexual

orientation to substance use showed that

sexual minorities engage in more substance

usage than heterosexuals (d 51 .59; Marshal

et al., 2008). The effect was especially high

for lesbians and bisexuals. The largest effects

were for hard drugs, and the smallest effects

were for more commonly used drugs, such as

marijuana and alcohol.

A study that provides substantial infor-

mation about drug usage among adolescents

is the Monitoring the Future Study (Johnston

et al., 2009, 2010). This study has tracked drug

use among thousands of high school seniors

since 1975 and among thousands of eighth

and tenth grade students since 1991. Between

the late 1970s and 1990, drug usage declined

dramatically among adolescents, but drug us-

age increased during the 1990s. Since the late

1990s, drug usage has leveled off and more

recently shown a slight decline. For example,

the percentage of twelfth graders who had

used marijuana over the past year increased in

the 1970s, peaked at 51% in 1979, decreased

to 22% in 1992, rose in the 1990s to near 40%

and has declined in recent years to 32%. Simi-

lar trends were observed for other illicit drugs.

There has been a very slight decline during the

past few years. Sex differences in illicit drug

use appear to increase with age. There are no

sex differences in illicit drug use over the past

year among eighth graders, very small sex dif-

ferences in drug use among tenth graders, and

a larger sex difference among twelfth graders

in the direction of boys more than girls (39%

vs. 34%). Males are more likely than females

to use marijuana among eighth, tenth, and

twelfth graders, but the size of this sex differ-

ence also increases with age.

Males use more of almost all kinds of

drugs compared to females—in particular

partner, and, in the case of children, lack

childcare and fear losing custody of children.

Prevalence. Men use more drugs than

women do. According to findings from the

2008 National Household Survey on Drug

Abuse, the rate of drug use has declined for

both men and women since the late 1970s,

stabilized in the 1990s, and shown a slight in-

crease recently (Substance Abuse and Men-

tal Health Services Administration, 2009).

These findings are based on persons aged 12

and above using illicit drugs within the prior

month. Figure 10.5 shows the rates of drug

use for males and females in different age

groups in 2008. Males have nearly twice the

rate of drug use as females except between

the ages of 12 and 17, when rates are similar.

The sex difference holds for Whites, Blacks,

and Hispanics. Men are also twice as likely

as women to be classified as dependent on

drugs or alcohol (11.5% vs. 6.4%), although

FIGURE 10.5 Percentage of people using

illicit drugs in the prior month in 2008.

Source: Adapted from Substance Abuse and

Mental Health Services Administration (2009).

Percent

People Using Illicit Drugs in

Prior Month, 2008

12–17 18–25 26 and up

Age

0

5

10

15

20

25

Male

Female

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