WOMEN'S DRINKING AND DRINKING PROBLEMS: PATTERNS FROM A 1981 NATIONAL SURVEY

A 1981 national survey of women's drinking interviewed 917 women in the general population, stratified on the basis of screening interviews to include 500 moderate-to-heavy drinkers. The survey found no evidence of any major recent increase in women's drinking, and no evidence of unusually heavy drinking among working wives. Adverse drinking consequences and episodes of extreme drinking were most common among women aged 21-34; women who were unmarried, divorced or separated, or cohabiting; and women with frequent drinkers as spouses or companions. Alcohol-related behavior problems and symptoms of alcohol dependence were closely related to levels of alcohol consumption. Among women averaging one ounce or more of ethanol per day, 45 percent had driven while intoxicated in the past year, and 36 percent reported memory lapses while drinking. Women at this consumption level were also more likely to report experiences with depression (61 percent). Women with extremely high consumption levels were more likely to have histories of obstetrical and gynecological problems. Some women with alcohol-related problems reported periods of temporary abstention, a pattern not studied heretofore.

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  • Corporate Authors:

    American Public Health Association

    800 I Street, NW
    Washington, DC  United States  20001-3710
  • Authors:
    • Wilsnack, R W
    • Wilsnack, S C
    • Klassen, A D
  • Publication Date: 1984-11

Media Info

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00395472
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  • Report/Paper Numbers: HS-037 997
  • Files: HSL, USDOT
  • Created Date: Jun 30 1985 12:00AM