Alcohol has a swifter effect on men than on women. Male drinkers are quicker to lose their self-control and inhibitions. Such are the findings of a study by the University of Kentucky. The results are set forth in the periodical Addiction.

We all sort of assume that men are bigger and heavier than women and they can (therefore) “carry” the beer or the wine with relative ease. Not so. Research leader Dr. Mark Filmore and colleagues sat men and women in front of a computer screen on which figures appeared and disappeared. The subject had to press a button if a green object showed. If something blue flashed across the screen, hands off.

The more the test volunteers drank the more difficult they found it to control their reactions at the sight of a blue object. Especially the men. The women were much better at distinguishing between blue and green.

The researchers say that this is because the psychological condition in which someone starts drinking is more important than the physical characteristics that have hitherto been accepted as the norm.

The psychological difference between the two sexes emerged clearly from the answers to a questionnaire. Answering the question what effect alcohol had, almost all the men said that it stimulated them. Which also means that aggression and self-confidence increased after a few glasses while self control decreased. Women mostly found alcohol “soothing” and therefore had less trouble keeping themselves within the limits of propriety.

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