Alcohol use and alcohol problems in women.

Abstract

lthough scientific research on human alcohol consumption dates A back at least to studies of psychomotor and cognitive effects of al-coho1 conducted in the mid-MOOS, research that focused specifically on women's drinking was relatively rare before the 1970s. A comprehensive literature search in the early 1970s (Sandmaier, 1980) found only 28 English-language articles on alcohol use or alcohol problems in women, compared with hundreds of published studies of male drinking. Reasons for the early neglect of women in alcohol research most likely included the higher prevalence of drinking and problem drinking among men than among women, the fact that men's problems with alcohol (e.g., alcoholrelated crime, accidents, or work problems) tended to be more visible than those of women, and the greater accessibility of men alcoholics as research subjects (e.g., in predominantly male Veterans Administration hospitalsThe 1981-1991 national longitudinal study of women's drinking reported in this chapter was supported hy Research Grant 5 R37 AA04610 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health. Other senior project staff are Richard W. Wilsnack, Nancy D. Vogeltanz, and T. Robert Harris. I am grateful to Nancy Vogeltanz and Richard Wilsnack for helpful comments on an earlier version of this chapter.

Alcohol abuse in individuals exposed to trauma: A critical review.

“…Results consistently reveal exceedingly high rates of self-reported sexual-abuse histories in samples of women with alcoholism (i.e., 24-85%), although the precise rates across studies vary widely (e.g., Cohen & Densen-Gerber, 1982;Kovach, 1986;Wilsnack, 1982Wilsnack, , 1984. Despite these differences, even the lowest rate is clinically significant when compared with base rates.…”

Depressive symptoms over time in women partners of men with and without alcohol problems.

“…Women partnered with men with alcohol problems are themselves more likely to have a history of heavy use and abuse of alcohol (see review by Wilsnack, 1995). Some data suggest that this connection may be attributed to assortative mating-that is, women who are heavy drinkers or who have an alcohol use disorder are more likely to enter into partnerships with men who are heavy drinkers or who have an alcohol use disorder (Windle, 1997).…”

“…Some data suggest that this connection may be attributed to assortative mating-that is, women who are heavy drinkers or who have an alcohol use disorder are more likely to enter into partnerships with men who are heavy drinkers or who have an alcohol use disorder (Windle, 1997). Heavy alcohol consumption may contribute directly to women's depressive symptoms because alcohol acts as a depressant over time (Wilsnack, 1995). …”

Full number: Volume 6, Number 2 / Número completo: Volumen 6, Número 2

“…En este sentido algunos autores destacan que acontecimientos como el abandono (separación, divorcio, fallecimientos familiares, etc.) aparecen con frecuencia en el origen del alcoholismo femenino, Wilsnack (1982) y Vaglum y Vaglum (1987), así como la presencia de un marido alcohólico, Rimmer y Winokur (1972).…”