1. Gender discrimination, educational attainment, and illicit drug use among U.S. women.
- Author
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Carliner, Hannah, Sarvet, Aaron, Gordon, Allegra, Hasin, Deborah, Sarvet, Aaron L, Gordon, Allegra R, and Hasin, Deborah S
- Subjects
SEX discrimination ,EDUCATIONAL attainment ,DRUGS of abuse ,AMERICAN women ,GENDER inequality ,RESEARCH funding ,SEXISM ,SUBSTANCE abuse - Abstract
Purpose: While gender inequality has been a topic of concern for decades, little is known about the relationship between gender discrimination and illicit drug use. Further, whether this association varies by education level is unknown.Methods: Among 19,209 women participants in Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (2004-2005), we used logistic regression to test the association between gender discrimination (measured with four items from the Experiences of Discrimination instrument) and three outcomes: past-year illicit drug use, frequent drug use, and drug use disorders. We then tested whether associations differed by education level.Results: Gender discrimination was reported by 9% of women and was associated with past-year drug use [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.67; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.17-3.29], frequent drug use (aOR = 2.82; CI 1.99-4.00), and past-year drug use disorders (aOR = 3.15; CI 2.16-4.61). All specific domains of gender discrimination (on the job, in public, with institutions, being called a sexist name) were associated with all drug use outcomes. The association between gender discrimination and past-year drug use was stronger among women with less than a high school education (aOR = 6.33; CI 3.38-11.85) compared to those with more education (aOR = 2.45; CI 1.97-3.04; p interaction < 0.01).Conclusions: Gender discrimination is consistently and strongly associated with illicit drug use and drug use disorders among U.S. women, with significantly higher odds for drug use among women with less than a high school education. Future research should examine whether explicitly addressing distress from discrimination could benefit women in drug treatment, especially among clients with lower educational attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2017
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