New study shows teen girls more likely to see benefits of drinking and drug use

A recent analysis of the 2009 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), showed some alarming trends with teenage girls’ perceptions of drinking alcohol and drug use. Some key findings included:

• More than two-thirds of teen girls responded positively to the question “using drugs helps kids deal with problems at home” (an 11% increase from 2008)
• More than half reported that drugs help teens forget their troubles (a 10% increase)
• Stress was identified as a key factor leading to drinking, smoking and drug use among girls
• More than three times as many young girls as boys reported having symptoms of depression in 2008
• Teenage girls’ alcohol use increased by 11% (from 53% in 2008 to 59% in 2009), a significant increase when compared to teenage boys
• Teen girls’ past year marijuana use significantly increased by 29%, while boys’ use of marijuana during the same time period had a much less dramatic 15% increase

So, what can parents do to prevent these increases in drug and alcohol use by their teenage girls?

Partnership President and CEO Steve Pasierb says, “Parents can help prevent alcohol and drug abuse by recognizing and addressing their daughters’ worries and stresses, by supporting her positive decisions and by taking immediate action if they suspect or know she has been experimenting with drugs and alcohol.”

Parents can also visit Time to Act to get step-by-step advice and sympathetic guidance from substance abuse experts, family therapists, scientists and fellow parents to help guide families through the process of understanding drug and alcohol use, confronting a child, setting boundaries and seeking outside help.

PATS was conducted for the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and MetLife Foundation by the Roper Public Affairs Division of GfK Custom Research. FMI, visit drugfree.org.

Educated, Professional Women More Likely to Drink Heavily

A recent study coming out of England shows that highly educated, professional women are more likely to drink heavily. According to researchers from the University of Lancaster, the higher the household income, the higher the alcohol consumption among women.

The study looked at female alcohol consumption in the U.K. and Denmark, where excessive drinking is common. While they found a decline in binge drinking by women in these countries since 2000, there has been an increase in “hidden forms of drinking” such as home drinking and wine drinking into middle age.

So, why are these women drinking more? The authors of the study argue that part of the problem is Britain’s approval of “civilized” European-style drinking at home. While the government has looked down upon excessive drinking by its youth and the working class, it has essentially ignored, and possibly validated, drinking by the middle aged and middle class.

This claim could be true in America as well. Past studies have shown an increase in the amount of middle aged women binge drinking. As for professional women, substance abuse is twice as likely among attorneys as compared to the general population. And, tragic cases like Diane Schuler have shown us that it’s not always the poor, lower class, single mom that gets into trouble with excessive drinking and drugs.

Alcohol abuse and misuse doesn’t discriminate. Period. Crossroads for Women holds an outpatient therapy group specifically for professional women in recovery. Find out more about the Professional Women’s Recovery Group and other therapy groups being offered in Maine (PDF)

Read More
Study: Female Professionals More Likely to Be Problem Drinkers
Professional Women More Likely to Be Heavy Drinkers, European Study Find

Drunken driving by women requires new tactics

Last week, startling statistics were released about women and driving under the influence (DUI). According to the report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 28.8% more women were arrested for DUI in 2007 than a decade earlier. In contrast, men’s DUI arrest rates went down 7.5% during the same period. Read more about the report

Here in Maine, it’s nice to see the Portland Press Herald is taking notice of America’s growing issues with women and drinking. A little over a week after publishing a Maine Voices article from Crossroads for Women responding to the Diane Schuler tragedy, editor and publisher Richard L. Connor wrote a column about the need for better understanding of women and drinking to prevent further tragedies behind the wheel. The link below is from today’s Monday Opinion.

Drunken driving by women requires new tactics | Portland Press Herald

New Study Shows Alcohol Triggers Higher Stress Response in Women’s Brains

Past studies have continually shown the women react to alcohol differently than men. They tend to metabolize alcohol more quickly and are subject to greater health effects as a result of regular drinking.

A study out of Idaho State University is taking a look at gender-specific differences in the way the brain reacts to alcohol. According to Dan Selvage, the researcher conducting the 5-year study, “Females tend to suffer the ravages of alcoholism much more quickly than males,” Selvage said. “Part of that’s due to metabolism, but another part of that is thought to be that alcohol activates body stress responses a lot more in females.”

Using rats as his subjects, Selvage has found that higher estrogen levels are linked to an increased stress response. This stress response prevents the person’s body from responding to the problem, thus causing more health problems. Selvage noted that alcohol tends to decrease testosterone secretion in males, but increases estrogen production in females.

Since women have more stress-related disorders, studies like these can help guide the way to gender-specific medical treatments for alcohol abuse.

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Alcohol May Affect Women’s Brains More (AP)

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