Gender Differences in CAM Usage in Undergraduates

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently opened a center for the study of the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). While the NlH has conducted a few random sampling studies, none have examined the knowledge and use of CAM among undergraduates and whether these differ by gender. III college students were asked about the usage of a variety of CAM techniques, as well as about beliefs and opinions about CAMt~chniques. Several gender differences emerged. Implications for college well ness centers will be discussed. Introduction , ", ~ , The impetus for this study began in a class given by the first author on'Psychology of Health: As part of the course material, the class spends two weeks discussing the' five types" of complementary and alternative medicine recognized by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2004 see description below). Students were'very interested iri these topics, but what was surprising was the number of students who reported using these techniques. Many students disclosed they had not told their physicians about their usage of these alternative and complementary techniques; many were not even sure why,they were taking certain supplements they just read something on the internet or their mends told them that they should take them to "feel better". As a result, it became clear that a research study on the usage of complementary and alternative practices needed to be conducted at thecollegiatelevel'::'not only on student usage, but on student attitudes and beliefs about the effectiveness 'of these techniques. The study discussed here presents the initial findings of that study. According to a 2004 nationwide study of the usage of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), 62% of American adults used some form of complementary and alternative medicine during the past year (Barnes, Powell-Griner, McFann, & Nahin, 2004). Complementary. and alternative medicine consists of the use and practice of therapies arid diagnostic techniques that fall outside conventional Western biomedicine (Ibid) and is generally broken down into five broad groupings. Biologically-based practices consist of the useof vitamins, minerals, protein supplements, functional foods, and diets in order to improve health (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2004). Energy medicine includes the use of energy fields (e.g., light or sound) for the purpose of healing disease and promoting well ness. Manipulative and body-based practices include chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation, reflexology, massage therapy, and other bodywork techniques. Mind-body medicine focuses on the interactions among the brain, mind, body, and behavior (e.g., yoga, tai chi, guided imagery, and biofeedback). Finally, whole medical systems are complete, independent systems of theory and practice (e.g., traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine,homeopathy; Ibid). The use of complementary alternative medicine is expanding in the unii~d States, and with each year, Americans are spending increasing amounts of money on alternative and complementary therapies (Eisenberg, Davis, Ettner, Appel, Wilkey, Van Rompay, & Kessler, 1998). For example, in 2005, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (10M) reported that 15 million American adults routinely used herbs and vitamins along with prescription medications to