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The findings of a study of the consumption of mood-modifying prescription drugs in a large Canadian city are presented and compared with data from the United States. The consistently higher prevalence of use of these drugs by women is examined. An explanatory model is proposed, suggesting that women are permitted greater freedom than men to express feelings. perceive their feelings more readily, and hence recognize emotional difficulties. This recognition enables the woman to define her difficulties within a medical model and thus bring them to the attention of her physician. The physician, representing the society that sanctions this freer expression, expects female patients to behave in this way, and thus expects them to require a higher proportion of mood-altering drugs than the less expressive male patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]