Introduction
Even few decades ago alcohol was mainly a man's issue, but such is not the case now. In the US about 15.1 million people are alcohol dependent with 4.6 million or about 1/3rd out of them being women. In the USA women alcoholism mainly came into picture after the women received their emancipation following the feminist movement which caused a revolutionary change in the society with more and more women going out to work abreast with men and attending colleges. The National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism reports that about 5.3 million American women consume alcoholic beverages in a manner that “threatens their health, safety and general well-being” (NIAAA). According to NIAAA, women suffering from alcoholism show the symptoms of craving for drink, inability to control drinking habit, withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, shakiness and nausea and tolerance to great amount of drinks to get inebriated Alcoholism in women are segmented into two types, 1) one is late-onset heavy drinking that grows out of circumstantial pressures among women aged between 35-49 and 2) another is the early onset of alcoholism found among women aged between 18-24 that grows out of youthful rebellion as women enter maturity and tackle various pressures of new adulthood responsibilities like career, marriage and child rearing. Studies show that the early onset of heavy drinking among women is more susceptive to familial alcoholism and therefore, more severe in nature (Marc Galanter, 1995, p 39).There are many factors contributive to the increase in women drinking resulting in some dire consequences and it is about time to arrest the problem through proper implementation of intervention programs.
Women Alcoholism and Reasons
Alcoholism is an illness that could be quite life threatening if not treated on time. Alcohol dependence is not only harmful for the drinker but also to others. People who continue to drink repeatedly for 12 months under the following situations are regarded alcoholic:
- Drinking at times when drinking could be hazardous such as just before or during driving.
- Being apprehended for drunken driving or hurting someone under the influence of alcohol.
- Absent on job or shirking child care responsibilities due to drinking
- Continuing to drink despite alcohol related tensions going on with family members and friends (NIAAA).
There are several reasons contributive to women alcoholism. Some are detailed below:
- Employment
There are several factors contributing to the growth of alcoholism among women in the US. First of all, in US most of the women are either full time or part time employed. Women who stay away from home due to work are more prone to frequent drinking than homemakers. The reason is that employed women have easy access to alcoholic beverages but employed women consume less alcohol if they have children. Further married employed women with multiple social roles get their self-esteem and social support out of fulfilling their jobs and duties and hence they show lesser propensity towards heavy drinking. On the other hand, women who are employed but have few social responsibilities are more prone to heavy drinking.
- Marriage, Divorce and Alcohol
In drinking surveys conducted in US almost two decades back, it was found that women who were divorced are more prone to alcoholism. Widowed women have less of drinking problems while married women have intermediate drinking problems, but today the whole scenario has changed. Recent study conducted in 2012 shows that while men are prone to curb their drinking habit after marriage, most of the women start drinking more right after marriage in order to give their husbands company. Since couples tend to share the same interest and values, they also tend to share the same activities like drinking and smoking and hence many women under the influence of their partners' drinking habit take to alcoholism. On the other hand, divorced women are found to be drinking less after divorce for not being anymore under the influence of their ex's drinking problem and rather they try to deal with their depression symptoms staying away from alcohol and food (Jennifer Abbasi, 2012).
3. Ethnicity and US culture
Ethnicity and culture also plays a role in women alcoholism.US culture is saturated with alcohol. A wedding in the US remains incomplete without the tradition of toasting champagne. Poured wine that symbolizes the blood of Christ is served during the Christian Communion. The consumption of alcohol in a party or social activity is a sacrosanct tradition very normative in the US culture. As a norm of cultural tradition, the use of alcohol is passed down from one generation onto the other and undoubtedly easy access to alcohol is a contributing factor of alcoholism among many women. Heavy drinking problems are very common among young adult white women whereas African American women are prone to have drinking problems in middle age. Hispanic conventional women are more likely to drink heavily with five or more pegs at once (NIAAA).
- Childhood Sexual Victimization and Family
Women who have suffered physical and sexual victimization during childhood are prone to alcoholism in later years of their life. A recent study conducted on 3,680 women shows "a strong association between having a history of child abuse and problems with alcohol abuse" (Sarah Jorgenson, 2010). These women take four or more pegs of drinks daily and drink to excess in a way that their drinking habit poses a serious threat to their life. Further, women whose parents are alcoholic are more likely to take to alcohol addiction than women coming from normal families.
- Cohabitation
Further studies show that the risks of alcoholism are higher among women who cohabit. Cohabitation increases the risk of alcohol dependence because cohabitation creates stress on women about the future uncertainty and lack of institutional support.
- Depression and Stress
Women alcoholics are afflicted by the feelings of inadequacy and lack of self-esteem, especially women with a horrible past of sexual victimization often suffer from a number of psychological problems like depression, insecurity, guilt and anxiety. Women suffering from depression are twice more likely to drink heavily than normal women. Lack of self-esteem contributes to poor coping mechanism under stress and some women in order to ease the pressure of stress take to alcoholism. Women who are alone without any family support are more likely to fall victim to alcoholism under stress (NIAAA).
- Hormones
Hormonal changes also add to the risk of women drinking. Hormonal changes during perimenopause creates emotional stress and trauma among women and many women in order to deal with these problem start heavy drinking eventually leading to alcoholism.
- Deviant Peer Group
Women suffering from lack of self-esteem, poor coping mechanism and rejection often find solace in deviant peers involved in drug or alcohol abuse. Their feelings of inadequacy prohibits them from mixing up with a normative peer group and thus their unhappy soul relates to people who are equally unhappy and together they take part in alcohol and drug abuse. This peer culture gives the survivors of sexual victimization a sort of emotional and social support which although encourages drinking problems form peer relations characterized by mutual needs of alcohol Marc Galanter, 1995, p 119).
Effect of Alcoholism
- Sexual Victimization
Heavy drinking increases the risk of sexual victimization of women. Heavy drinking women are unable to make any judgment of right and wrong and can be easily waylaid into a trap that could result in violent sexual abuse. Researchers Harrington and Leitenberg reported in their studies that date rape victims who confessed of being under the influence of alcohol during the rape or sexual assault believed that their assailants were also drunk (J. Richard Bonnie and Mary Ellen O'Connell, 2003, p 63). In addition to the vulnerability of sexual violence, alcohol also may influence a woman to engage in risky sexual practice that might result in unplanned pregnancies and catching of sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS or genital herpes.
- Health Problems
Women begin to show alcohol induced health problems faster with less amount of drinking than men do because women on average have height and weight less than men. Alcohol when drunk assimilates into the water in body and women in general have less amount of water than men. Therefore, when a man and woman of the same stature and weight drink the same amount of alcohol, the alcohol concentration in the blood of woman seems to be higher than that of a man, subjecting her to a greater amount of risk. Some of the health problems incurred by women due to heavy drinking are the following:
- Liver Damage
Compared to men, women are more likely to develop alcoholic liver diseases within a short period of time with less consumption of alcohol. Alcohol leads to liver inflammation or alcoholic hepatitis which over time leads to scarring and liver cirrhosis, the final fatal stage of alcoholic liver disease.
- Brain Damage
Women are more likely than men to suffer from alcohol induced brain damage. A study conducted by researchers of Gothenburg University on women who had been drinking 12 bottles of wine a week for 4 years shows that alcoholic women suffered from 50% reduction in the function of serotonin which is a neurotransmitter in brain crucial to the treatment of depression and anxiety. For men to have the same amount of damage would require similar amount of drinking for 12 years. Also regular consumption of alcohol impairs the cognitive ability of women faster than that of men (David Kirkpatrick).
- Alcohol during Pregnancy
Drinking alcohol during pregnancy at any time is harmful for the growth of the fetus but recent studies show that drinking alcohol could be detrimental especially if the pregnant woman abuses alcohol during the second trimester. The alcohol consumed by a pregnant woman may cross the barrier of placenta and enter the bloodstream of the fetus causing irreparable harm to the development of the unborn child who is likely to suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome at birth with abnormal brain structure, stunted growth or weight and distinctive facial distortion resulting in behavioral and psychological problems (Sarah C.P. Williams, 2012).
- Heart Diseases
Women are two times more likely to develop heart ailment than men due to heavy drinking. In fact, heart disease is one of leading causes killing women in the US. Though moderate amount of alcohol is good for the health of heart but overconsumption could lead to fatal cardiovascular diseases. Heavy drinking increases blood pressure which is one of the contributing factors to stroke or heart attack. Heavy drinking can also cause weight gain which also increases blood pressure. Excessive alcohol consumption can also weaken the heart muscles leading to cardiomyopathy and can result in heart failure.
- Breast Cancer
Women who drink beer, wine and liquor on a regular basis are 15 times more likely to suffer from breast cancer than women who don’t drink at all. Alcohol may increase the chances of breast cancer by shooting up the estrogen level and other hormones that lead to the disease. It may further damage DNA in cells increasing the risk of breast cancer.
- Driving Under Alcohol
Drinking affects one's cognitive abilities, resulting in difficulty of controlling impulse or making decision and impairment of motor skills and fatal crashes is one of the worse effects of women alcoholism. Although the incidents of fatal crashes by men is still higher in number, the statistics show that the number of car crashes by alcohol-impaired female drivers has increased to a great degree in recent years. In 2008, there were 1,650 fatal crashes in which female drunk drivers were involved. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) submitted a report that shows an increase in the number of fatal accidents by women drivers under the influence of alcohol all across the US. As per the record of FBI, the number of DUI arrests of women has increased between the years 1998 and 2007 by 28.8% (Shelley Mika, 2009).
Interventions
- Professional Interventions with Counselors
In order to arrest the problem of women alcoholism, first of all women should be informed of the detrimental effects of alcohol consumption. If that doesn't help they should be placed in professional care with counselors who would prepare the stage for a family confrontation in which the drinker would come face to face with the impact of her drinking upon the people around her. Many a time such professional care comes as a total surprise to the alcoholic who doesn't react encouragingly to the treatment procedures and hence it is important to make her realize how people related to her are getting affected due to her heavy drinking problem. Upon the bitter realization of drinking problem, the alcoholic might enter the treatment program willingly showing a cooperative attitude. That the professional intervention would be successful or not depends on how the alcoholic responds to the treatment and makes some transitions to her life style during and after the treatment. However, it is to be noted that the professional intervention can help the alcoholic recover from the problem only if the alcoholic herself is willing to translate a month long treatment program into a recovery process of life time.
- Employee Assistance Programs
Since majority of the women population in the US are either full time or part time employed, the EAPs or Employee Assistance Programs offered by many employers to help employees cope with their personal problems would come as a boon to employed women who are fighting alcohol problems. This program has separate groups of men and women counselors and essentially helps female employees deal with the problem of alcoholism. EAP programs are designed to support the employees suffering from problem related to substance abuse, emotional distress, accidents, stress, depression, marital issues, legal or healthcare concerns, family problems and so on. EAPs are mostly written policy that allows the supervisors to go for professional consultation while handling the issue of subordinates whose performance is deteriorated by the slew of personal problems including alcoholism, substance abuse and others. The EAP function includes a "clinical assessment of employee problems, referral to appropriate community resources, follow-up of the employee at the workplace following service use, training of supervisors and managers about EAP policy, and provision of consultation to supervisors/ managers when the occasion arises for their use of the program to deal with subordinates" (D. R. Gerstein and H. J. Harwood, 1992, p 201). EAPs are offered by a good many US employers with many benefits and services provided for the treatment of alcohol. Under this program when an employee discloses voluntarily her history of alcohol abuse and seeks help, the employer respects her privacy and does not leak her situation to her fellow colleagues. Many a time because of embarrassment and shame associated with the exposure, alcoholics don't come open with their problems. Once a female employee requests for help on alcoholism or some other issues that could be the trigger point of her alcoholism, the EAP does all the needful work including providing information and resources as regards the treatment options and rehabilitation centers, counseling, in-house or out-house professional help and related services. These programs also assist the female employees with different aspects of insurance. Since often the intervention programs are cost intensive, the insurance and help offered by the employer make a lot of change in assuring the women suffering from depression, marital problems and alcoholism to opt for help. In EAPs, employees seeking treatment and rehabilitation for alcohol abuse must not be subjected to discrimination by the employer and are treated the same way as employees with other health issues. They are allowed the same privileges and benefits that other employees are entitled to such as paid annual leave, paid sick leave, leave without pay and medical insurance coverage.
- Education to Women
There are many women who take to alcoholism under the influence of circumstantial pressure unaware of the long term consequences of heavy drinking. Therefore, it is important to provide the women with the rightful information related to alcoholism and its detrimental effects. Women should be made aware of how alcohol consumption during pregnancy could hamper the growth of the unborn child, how women are more vulnerable to develop a slew of health problems including heart disease, liver damage, breast cancer and brain damage with the drinking of small quantity compared to men. Schools, media and family should take the responsibility to teach children both male and female about the damaging effect of alcohol especially on the health of women so that a woman who drinks occasionally never gets addicted to alcohol.
Conclusion
In the USA the trend of women alcoholism came into fashion following the feminist movement when the society underwent a revolutionary change with more and more number of emancipated women getting rid of the shackles of gender stereotyping, entering the workforce and getting college degrees. There are several factors contributive to the increase in women alcoholism including employment, marriage, divorce, ethnicity, the US culture, cohabitation, hormones, childhood sexual victimization, depression, stress and peer group. Women are more likely to suffer from the detrimental effects of alcohol abuse than men even at the consumption of small quantity for shorter period of time. There are several damaging consequences of women alcoholism including increase in the tendency of victims of sexual abuse, health problems and fatal accidents due to impaired motor skill under the influence of alcohol. In order to curb the problem of women alcoholism, it is time to undertake some preventive strategies like professional help through counseling, EAP programs and educative awareness. Through the proper implementation of the intervention programs and by spreading awareness related to the grievous outcome of women alcoholism only we can hope of a better result in the coming future.
References
Galanter, Marc. Dufour, Mary and Fuller, Richard K.(1995). Recent Developments in Alcoholism, Volume 12: Alcoholism and Women. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Hingham, USA
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Abbasi, Jennifer (2012). Marriage-Alcohol Study Shows Wives Drink More Than Single Women, Huffington Post. Retrieved on 21st June 2013 from <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/20/marriage-alcohol-study-wives-drink-single-women_n_1810133.html>
Jorgenson, Sarah (2010). Childhood Sexual, Physical Abuse Linked to Drinking Problems in Women, Center for Advancing Health. Retrieved on 21st June 2013 from <http://www.cfah.org/hbns/2010/childhood-sexual-physical-abuse-linked-to-drinking-problems-in-women#.UcSXSb3D_IU>
Bonnie, Richard J. and O'Connell, Mary Ellen (2003). Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility, National Research Council. Washington DC, USA. National Academies Press.
Kirkpatrick, David. Women of all ages suffer quicker brain damage from drinking abuse: study, Retrieved on 21st June 2013 from <http://blogs.siliconindia.com/gerhart/Women_of_all_ages_suffer_quicker_brain_damage_from_drinking_abuse_study-bid-v195tZ6244954403.html>
Williams, Sarah C.P (2012). Alcohol risk to fetus highest late in first trimester, NBC News. Retrieved on 21st June 2013 from <http://www.nbcnews.com/id/46016369/ns/health-pregnancy/t/alcohol-risk-fetus-highest-late-first-trimester/>
Mika, Shelley (2009). Drunk Driving: A Growing Problem Among, Automotive Fleet - Feature <http://www.automotive-fleet.com/channel/safety-accident-management/article/story/2009/10/drunk-driving-a-growing-problem-among-women.aspx?prestitial=1>
Gerstein, Dean R. and Harwood, Henrick J. (1992), Treating Drug Problems, Institute of Medicine Staff, National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA
