Revealed: alcohol's relentless grasp on women

November 3, 2008

New research from the University of Western Sydney has revealed that women in recovery from alcoholism are at a high risk of relapsing as they reach midlife.

PhD researcher Ms Janice Withnall, from the UWS School of Education, has just completed the first three years of her Australia-wide study of the experiences of women who are recovering from alcohol dependency.

The results reveal that women recovering from alcoholism require many years of treatment and self-managed care; and the pressures imposed on many of these women as they reach midlife can impair their recovery abilities.

"Many women in the midlife period, between the ages of 35 and 55, are pulled in many directions with increased family and work commitments," says Ms Withnall.

"For those who have succeeded in abstaining from alcohol for more than five years, there is a risk that they will not continue their treatment for this chronic illness and succumb to alcohol when these pressures become too great."

According to Ms Withnall, it is crucial for women in recovery from alcoholism to maintain complete abstinence throughout this difficult period of their lives.

"Many people do not understand the extreme and devastating effects that alcohol abuse has on women's bodies and sense of self," says Ms Withnall.

"Alcohol inflicts more damage, more quickly on women than on men. For those who have already had a problem with the misuse of alcohol, relapsing can have dire consequences."

In 2009, Ms Withnall is continuing her PhD research to ensure that more women can effectively sustain their recovery from alcohol and avoid the risk of relapsing in midlife.

Women aged between 35 to 55 years who have maintained abstinence for more than five years and health practitioners with more than seven years experience in alcohol recovery, are being asked to take part in this final stage of the study.

Participants from all regions of Australia are welcome to participate.

Provided by University of Western Sydney

Filter


Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

bobwinners
Nov 04, 2008

Rank: not rated yet
Makes sense. One common trait in alcoholics is high emotionality. Learning to deal with emotions without alcohol is part of conquering the disease. It is evident to me that a woman at the change of life suffers from a an increase in emotional responses, often extreme. This, combined with other factors can easily lead to relapses.
StephanieInCA
Nov 10, 2008

Rank: not rated yet
I think social expectations of women also play a role in alcohol abuse. So long as society values women who are compliant, submissive, and bad at math, highly intelligent women will continue to struggle with substance abuse.

Recent studies suggest that high IQ in childhood, particularly in women, is a strong predictor of problem drinking later in life: http://urbzen.com...e-happy/
Rank 4 /5 (1 vote)
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Injured boomers beware: Know when to see doctor

(AP) -- It happened to nurse Jane Byron years after an in-line skating fall, business owner Haralee Weintraub while doing "men's" push-ups, and avid cyclist Gene Wilberg while lifting a heavy box.

Medicine & Health / Health

created 16 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

FDA-approved drug rapidly clears amyloid from the brain, reverses Alzheimer's symptoms in mice

Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have made a dramatic breakthrough in their efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The researchers' findings, published in the journal Science, show t ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (53) | comments 21 | with audio podcast

Green tea found to reduce disability in the elderly

(Medical Xpress) -- A lot of research has been done over the past several years looking into the health benefits of green tea. As a result, scientists have found that regular consumption of the beverage leads ...

Medicine & Health / Health

created Feb 07, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (14) | comments 11 | with audio podcast report

Teen school drop-outs three times as likely to be on benefits in later life

Teen school drop-outs are almost three times as likely to be on benefits in later life as their peers who complete their schooling, indicates research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Medicine & Health / Health

created Feb 06, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 13

To perform with less effort, practice beyond perfection

Whether you are an athlete, a musician or a stroke patient learning to walk again, practice can make perfect, but more practice may make you more efficient, according to a surprising new University of Colorado Boulder study.

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (15) | comments 6 | with audio podcast


Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon

(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...

Latin America mining boom clashes with conservation

Latin America is experiencing a mining boom as prices rise fuelled by a hike in global demand, but the region is also being hit by a wave of violent protests, strikes and rallies by environmentalists.

Love a click away in Indonesia's Twitter Republic

He was a geeky kid from Yogyakarta, she a glamorous city girl in Jakarta. In a country with one of the world's most vibrant social networking scenes they fell in love on Twitter.

Europeans protest controversial Internet pact

Tens of thousands of people marched in protests in more than a dozen European cities Saturday against a controversial anti-online piracy pact that critics say could curtail Internet freedom.

Walney offshore wind farm is world's biggest (for now)

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Walney wind farm on the Irish Sea--characterized by high tides, waves and windy weather--officially opened this week. The farm is treated in the press as a very big deal as the Walney ...

Navy to begin tests on electromagnetic railgun prototype launcher

The Office of Naval Research (ONR)'s Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun program will take an important step forward in the coming weeks when the first industry railgun prototype launcher is tested at a facility ...