Clinical Psychology Associates of North Central
Florida P.A.

Providing Quality Psychological Consultation, Assessment and
Psychotherapy to the North Central Florida
Community

2121 NW 40th Terr.
Ste B. Gainesville FL 32605                          352-336-2888                                   CPANCF.COM

Are alcohol problems the same
for men and women?

Sex differences in alcohol abuse and dependence

by
Kay Hurlock, Psy.D., Clinical Psychology Associates of North Central
Florida, P.A.

·
Are there gender differences in rates of alcohol use and abuse?

o
Alcohol
Dependence and Abuse comprise one of the most common disorders.

o
Males
are generally twice to five times as likely to experience alcohol abuse or
dependence.

o
Recent
research indicates a disturbing trend: Adolescent females 12 to 17 are equally
as likely as adolescent males to have met alcohol abuse or dependence
criteria.

o
Males
account for more treatment admissions for alcohol abuse than do females.

o
More than 40% of people who initiated
drinking before age 15 were diagnosed as alcohol dependent at some point in
their lives.

o
Although in the past women generally started
drinking at later ages than men, more recent survey data show a trend that
alcohol abuse and dependence rates in women are increasing.

o
While females who abuse alcohol usually start
later than males, problems tend to develop more rapidly so that by middle age
women often encounter the same problems as men.

·
Does alcohol affect women the same as it affects men?

o
Women appear to be more susceptible than men
to many adverse effects of alcohol use.

o
Women achieve higher concentrations of alcohol
in the blood and become more impaired than men after drinking the same amount
of alcohol. This is because women absorb and metabolize alcohol differently
then men.  Basically, women have
less body water, so they achieve higher concentrations of alcohol in the blood
after equivalent amounts of alcohol.

o
The
different body composition and increased alcohol concentrations make women more
susceptible to earlier health effects of alcohol abuse and dependence.

·
Are there Special
Concerns for Women regarding Alcohol Use, Abuse or Dependence?

o
Victimization

·
Women with a history of childhood neglect
significantly have more alcohol-related symptoms, independent of parental
alcohol or other drug (AOD) problems, childhood poverty, race, and age.

·
Physical abuse during adulthood has also been
associated with women's alcohol use and related problems.

·
A survey of female college students found a
significant relationship between the amounts of alcohol the women reported
drinking each week and their experiences of sexual victimization.

·
Another study found that female high school
students who used alcohol in the past year were more likely, than non-drinking
students, to be the victims of dating violence (e.g., shoving, kicking, or
punching).

·
A history of heavy premarital drinking, by
both partners, has been found to predict first-year aggression among newlyweds.
In some studies, problem drinking by wives has been linked to husband-to-wife
aggression regardless of the husbands' drinking levels.

Health Consequences

·
Research suggests that women are more at risk
than men to medical problems, psychological or physical trauma, legal and
interpersonal difficulties.

·
Liver Damage

·
Women will develop alcohol-induced liver
disease over a shorter period of time and after consuming less alcohol.

·
Women are more likely than men to develop alcoholic hepatitis and to
die from cirrhosis.

·
Women’s
higher risk of liver damage may be due to the effects of the female hormone
estrogen.

·
Breast Cancer

·
Several studies
report that moderate to heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk for breast
cancer.

·
Motor Vehicle Accidents

·
Although women are less likely than men to
drive after drinking and less likely to be involved in fatal alcohol-related
crashes, women have a higher relative risk of driver fatality than men at
similar blood alcohol concentrations.

·
Women's lower rates of drinking and driving
may be attributed to their lower tendency toward risk taking compared with men.

·
Women are also less likely to view drinking
and driving as acceptable behavior.

References:

American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, Washington,
D.C.

NIAAA. Alcohol Alert No. 46: Are Women More Vulnerable to
Alcohol’s Effects?. Rockville, MD: the Institute, 1999.

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Psychology Associates of North Central Florida, P.A.   Gainesville,
Florida    (352) 336-2888                CPANCF.COM