Publications

Women Are Drinking Less

There has been a growing public concern about women’s drinking habits because current research in women’s health issues point to links between alcohol consumption and breast cancer, higher risk of alcohol-related liver problems as compared with men, and the risks of fetal alcohol syndrome. There is also a fear that alcohol may pose an increased risk of physical assault. Given women’s role changes over the past several decades, stresses due to employment, and college and university environments in which heavy drinking occurs, it seems reasonable to expect that more and more women are drinking over time. However, research has supported no such trend.

As part of the National Study of Health and Life Experience of Women, researchers analyzed data gathered in three surveys conducted by the National Opinion Research center. Women 21 years and older from all U.S. states but Alaska and Hawaii were surveyed three times over a period of 20 years: baseline in 1981, and follow-ups in 1991 and 2001. Face-to-face interviews averaging 75-90 minutes in length included questions about drinking behavior (including lifetime histories and abstinence), drinking-related problems, and possible antecedents and consequences. Participants were also asked about heavy episodic drinking, defined as drinking six or more drinks per day. From the data gathered, researchers computed the prevalence of drinking and abstinence patterns in six age groups of women (from the 20s through the 70s and older). Ethnicity, marital status, and education were also studied.

Results of the study did not support the expectation that more and more women are drinking. On the contrary, the data suggest that U.S. women tend to quit drinking as they grow older—a pattern that has received little attention in recent research. Researchers also analyzed abstinence rates and found that 30-day abstinence rates increased sharply between 1981 and 2001, a finding inconsistent with media alarms about women’s drinking. The findings also do not support the expectation of an historical increase in heavy episodic drinking; analysis showed a decline from 1981 to 2001, particularly among women in the 21-30 age group who had initially reported the highest prevalence for heavy episodic drinking. The prevalence of intoxication consistently declined with advancing age.

(Wilsnack, RW, Kristjanson, AF, Wilsnack, SC, Crosby, RD.: Are U.S. women drinking less (or more)? Historical and aging trends, 1981–2001. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 67: 341–348, 2006.)

Related posts:

1. Older Women Do Better in Treatment
2. Treatment Outcomes for Women are Better than for Men
3. Why There Are No Seniors In Beer Ads
4. College Drinking Has Serious Health Consequences
5. Tailgating Proves Dangerous