Research indicates that women frequently use alcohol as a coping mechanism, while men ascribe excess drinking to increased sociability. Family status is another important piece of the mental health puzzle and one that has significant implications for treatment, according to Mary E. McCaull, Ph.D. For example, there is a high incidence of drug-dependency in women with family or household members who abuse drugs and alcohol. Seventy-five percent report being physically or sexually abused as an adult. Family dysfunction also can lead to a host of co-occurring problems. Fifty-four percent of pediatric AIDS cases stem from intravenous drug use.
Alcohol is the drug of choice for women and it carries potentially devastating consequences.
There is concern, however, that recent reports linking moderate drinking and lower rates of heart disease and osteoporosis could be a disincentive for alcoholic women to abstain. Nonetheless, research on alcoholism is making exciting strides. At the same time, advances in neuroscience and imaging technology are enabling scientists to study the living brain, with the prospect of more effective and targeted drug therapies. Yet, despite progress in understanding women s mental health and a broader arsenal of effective treatments, there can be little practical impact unless efforts are made to improve access to care. Currently, women face a range of treatment barriers not common to men, including responsibilities to home and children, fear that treatment will threaten their custody of a child, and feelings that they need alcohol or drugs to cope with daily situations.