More and More Women are Alcoholics
Erika recently posted some great insight into Women, Depression and Alcoholism and I wanted to follow her lead with an emphatic verification: alcoholism is considered a male disease no longer. According to ScienceDaily, sadly, more and more women are alcoholics. Here’s what they have to say:
An Expert Opinion on Women and Alcoholism
According to the latest research, “A new examination of data on similarly aged groups, compared across decades, has found substantial increases in drinking and alcohol dependence among women. Increases were particularly notable among white and Hispanic women — beginning with those born in the United States after World War II.”
Richard A. Grucza is an epidemiologist at Washington University School of Medicine and the corresponding author of one of the latest studies. He says:
“By looking at two different cross-sectional surveys that asked the same questions in the same manner, but were conducted 10 years apart, we were able to compare, for example, 30 - 40 year olds in 2001 with 30 - 40 year olds in 1991. Essentially, this allowed us to correct for the effects of age on reporting. When we did this, we found that the tendency for young people to have higher levels of lifetime alcohol dependence clearly remained for women, although it disappeared for men.”
Why are the Number of Female Alcoholics on the Rise?
It could be a number of things. One of which is the fact that epidemiological studies aren’t foolproof. Even today, admitting that you have a problem with drugs and/or alcohol isn’t the easiest thing in the world, especially for women, the gender upon which the entire world is dependent. Few women want to admit that they have a problem and embrace the ensuing stigma that may befall them as a result. So the numbers could be reflective of the fact that more and more women are more comfortable admitting that they have a problem with alcohol and need help.
Or it could be that the number of women drinking in excess is legitimately on the rise. The stress placed on women to care for their family and provide for them financially, create a name for themselves in the business world and still be available to their children, spouses and elderly family members emotionally may be taking its toll.
Another Expert Opinion on Women and Alcoholism
Shelly F. Greenfield is the associate clinical director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Program at McLean Hospital. She says, “One possible explanation is that between 1934 and 1964, the social acceptability of women’s drinking increased. As it was more socially acceptable for women to drink, a greater number of them became drinkers. Because women have a heightened vulnerability to the effects of alcohol — that is, greater blood alcohol levels at similar ‘doses’ of alcohol — we may therefore see a concomitant rise in alcohol dependence among those who ever drank.”
What’s Your Opinion?
What do you think? Are the numbers of female alcoholics truly on the rise or are the numbers somewhat skewed due to public perception and stigma?
Tags: Alcohol Rehab, Women and Addiction, women and alcoholism
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