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A Prospective Study of Self‐Esteem and Alcohol Use Disorders in Early Adulthood: Evidence for Gender Differences
Author(s) -
Walitzer Kimberly S.,
Sher Kenneth J.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1996.tb01956.x
Subject(s) - self esteem , psychology , alcohol , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , biochemistry , chemistry
The relations among gender, self‐esteem, and DSM‐III alcohol use disorder diagnoses were examined in a sample of 217 men and 240 women evaluated at four annual assessments over the college years. The results support clinical observations that low self‐esteem plays a particularly important etiological role in alcohol problems in women relative to men. Women who had an alcohol use disorder during years 3 and/or 4 showed relatively low levels of self‐esteem throughout the study period. Furthermore, the study provides clear evidence for prospective prediction from year 1 self‐esteem to year 4 alcohol use disorder diagnosis for women, but not for men. There was minimal evidence to suggest that alcohol use predicts later self‐esteem.