Substance Use In Women Research Articles

Assessment of difference in dimensions of sexual orientation: implications for substance use research in a college-age population.

The present research examines the associations between three distinct dimensions of sexual orientation and substance use in a random sample of undergraduate students. A Web-based survey was administered to students attending a large, midwestern research university in the spring of 2003. The sample consisted of 9,161 undergraduate students: 56% female, 68% white, 13% Asian, 6% black, 4% Hispanic and 9% other racial categories. Using multivariate logistic regression analyses, several measures of alcohol and other drug use were compared across three dimensions of sexual orientation: sexual identity, sexual attraction and sexual behavior. All three dimensions of sexual orientation were associated with substance use, including heavy episodic drinking, cigarette smoking and illicit drug use. Consistent with results of several other recent studies, "nonheterosexual" identity, attraction or behavior was associated with a more pronounced and consistent risk of substance use in women than in men. Study findings suggest substantial variability in substance use across the three dimensions of sexual orientation and reinforce the importance of stratifying by gender and using multiple measures to assess sexual orientation. Study results have implications for future research and for interventions aimed at reducing substance use among college students.

Modeling Substance Use and Related Risk Behaviors Leading to Criminal Justice Involvement Among Young Adult Women

Using structural equation modeling, two models of the relationship between trauma, attachment, substance use, risk behavior, and criminal justice involvement among young adult women were tested. Overall, the model constructs explained approximately 23% and 36% of the variance in Illicit Substance Use and Risk Behavior, respectively, and 28% of the variance in Criminal Justice Involvement. Data were taken from a longitudinal study of pregnant and parenting adolescents (N = 239). This population is important because they may be at increased risk for involvement in problem behaviors across adolescence and adulthood. Findings suggest that patterns of emotional dysregulation are significant contributors to women's illicit substance use and risk behavior. Implications for intervention and prevention are addressed.

Cross-lagged relationships between substance use and intimate partner violence among a sample of young adult women.

The goal of this study was to examine the longitudinal relationship between substance use and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and perpetration among a sample of young adult women. A sample of 509 women who participated in Waves 8 (age 23) and 9 (age 29) of a multiyear panel study and who indicated they were living with a partner or spouse at both time points provided the data for this investigation. Path analysis was used to examine the cross-lagged relationships between women's substance use and IPV victimization and perpetration over the two waves of data. Although strong within- and across-time associations between substance use and IPV victimization and perpetration were found at the bivariate level, substance use did not predict women's subsequent IPV victimization or perpetration in the cross-lagged model. Instead, victims of IPV at age 23 were found to be at an increased risk for later heavy drinking. Perpetrators of IPV at age 23 were less likely than nonperpetrators to report heavy drinking at age 29. The results suggest that substance use does not increase women's long-term risk of experiencing or perpetrating IPV but that victimization by IPV puts women at risk for subsequent heavy drinking.

The role of women's substance use in vulnerability to forcible and incapacitated rape.

Although women's substance use is believed to contribute to rape vulnerability, few studies have examined, separately from forcible rape, rape that occurs due to incapacitation. The current study examines the prevalence of completed forcible and incapacitated rape in a representative community sample of young women, identifies the predictors of these two forms of rape and compares characteristics of forcible and incapacitated rape incidents. Women, ages 18-30 (N = 1,014), were recruited from households in the Buffalo, NY, area, by means of random-digit-dialing. They completed computer-assisted measures, including the Sexual Experiences Survey and a face-to-face interview regarding sexual assault experiences occurring since age 14. Lifetime prevalence of incapacitated rape was nearly identical to prevalence of forcible rape, with about 1 in 10 women reporting each type of rape since age 14. In multivariate analysis, age and childhood sexual abuse predicted forcible but not incapacitated rape, whereas adolescent alcohol and drug use predicted incapacitated but not forcible rape. Incapacitated rape incidents differed from forcible rape incidents on several contextual variables, including relationship to perpetrator, activities preceding the assault and victim injury. Findings suggest that forcible rape and incapacitated rape may be different forms of sexual assault, with different distal and proximal correlates. Distinguishing these two forms may facilitate understanding of the role of women's alcohol and drug use in sexual assault.

Women's substance use and experiences of intimate partner violence: A longitudinal investigation among a community sample

Although cross-sectional studies reveal an association between women's substance use and experiencing physical violence from one's intimate partner, the temporal ordering of these variables is not clearly established. The current study involved longitudinal examination of the association of women's substance use with subsequent experiences of intimate partner violence as well as the association between women's experiences of intimate partner violence and their subsequent substance use. Women ages 18–30 who were in heterosexual relationships ( n=724) were recruited through random digit dialing in the Buffalo, NY, area. Within ongoing relationships, women's use of hard drugs was associated with increased odds of experiencing intimate partner violence over the next 12 months. Both marijuana and hard drug use were associated with increased likelihood of experiencing violence in new relationships. Women's heavy episodic drinking did not predict subsequent experiences of partner violence in ongoing or new relationships. Experiences of intimate partner violence had a significant effect on subsequent relationship satisfaction, which was modestly associated with subsequent heavy episodic drinking but not with subsequent drug use.

Substance Use Before and During Pregnancy: Links to Intimate Partner Violence

Although some research has found links between women's experiences of intimate partner violence and their use of substances, little research has examined how this potential relationship changes when women become pregnant. Furthermore, most of the past research examining women's experiences of intimate partner violence and their use of substances has focused on only one type of violence, typically, physical assault. Thus less is known concerning how other important forms of violence, such as psychological aggression and sexual coercion, may be related to women's substance use and substance abuse disorders. This research studies 85 prenatal care patients to describe the women's use of alcohol and illicit drugs, both before and during pregnancy, in relation to their experiences of various types of intimate partner violence before and during pregnancy (including psychological aggression, physical abuse, and sexual coercion). The Conflict Tactics Scales 2 was used to assess the women's experiences of intimate partner violence. The women were asked about their frequency of alcohol use, and alcohol using women were administered a short version of the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test to assess the women for symptoms of alcohol disorder. The women's use of illicit drugs was assessed by asking the women about their frequencies of various types of drug use and drug using women were administered the Drug Abuse Screening Test to assess the women for symptoms of drug disorder. The results showed that before pregnancy, women who were physically assaulted by their partners were somewhat more likely to drink alcohol and use illicit drugs compared with women who did not experience such violence, even though these differences did not reach the traditional level of statistical significance; however, among the substance‐using women, those who experienced each type of violence were more likely to be frequent users of substances compared with the non‐victims, and they evidenced a greater number of substance disorder symptoms compared with the non‐victims. After the women became pregnant, the links between women's experiences of intimate partner violence and their use of substances became stronger, with the women who experienced each type of partner violence being more likely to use both alcohol and illicit drugs. Furthermore, among the substance using women, those who were psychologically and physically abused had somewhat elevated levels of substance disorder symptoms during pregnancy compared with women who did not suffer such victimization. These findings underscore the importance of providing routine screening for various types of violent victimization and substance use within the context of many types of women's health care settings, including substance abuse treatment programs, domestic violence programs, and prenatal care services.

Drinking and problem drinking in US women. Patterns and recent trends.

General population surveys suggest that the percentage of US women who drink declined slightly during the 1980s. Comparisons of 1981 and 1991 national surveys using the same drinking measures show that fewer women drank heavily in 1991, and women drinkers drank less frequently and had fewer episodes of heavy drinking, although younger drinkers reported more frequent intoxication. Longitudinal analyses of 5-year changes in drinking behavior indicate that movement both into and out of problem drinking is greatest among women aged 21 to 34. Subgroups of women with elevated rates of heavy drinking and/or adverse drinking consequences include younger women; women lacking social roles or occupying unwanted social statuses; women in nontraditional jobs; cohabiting women; and ethnic minority women experiencing rapid acculturation. Risks of heavy and/or problem drinking are also greater among women with a heavy-drinking husband or partner; depression; sexual dysfunction; or violent victimization in childhood or adulthood. Future research should focus on (1) the causes and consequences of recent declines in women's drinking; (2) antecedents and consequences of specific patterns of multiple substance use in women; (3) social and relational contexts of women's drinking, including occupational influences, drinking behavior of significant others, sexual dysfunction, and relationship violence; (4) longitudinal predictors of both problem drinking onset and "spontaneous" remission of women's alcohol problems; and (5) childhood sexual abuse as a potentially powerful risk factor for later alcohol abuse in women.

Childhood Predictors of Daily Substance Use among Homeless Women of Different Ethnicities

The objective of this study was to describe associations between childhood factors and adult daily substance use profiles among homeless women and to identify independent predictors of daily substance use for the overall sample and for ethnic/acculturation subgroups. Structured surveys were administered to 1,331 homeless women in Los Angeles who were either daily drug and alcohol users for the past 6 months or nondaily substance users. Physical abuse and parental drug abuse predicted daily drug use in the whole sample and selected subgroups, whereas parental alcohol abuse predicted daily alcohol use in the whole sample. Teen self-esteem was also found to have a protective effect on daily alcohol use for the sample and for African American women. Negative peer influence in adolescence predicted daily drug use among high-acculturated Latinas. In summary, childhood abuse, parental substance use, and negative peer influence affect important roles in homeless women's daily substance use.

Mandated Interventions with Drug-Dependent, Pregnant Women

Increased concern about the influence of pregnant women's substance use on fetal health has prompted a variety of actions, including calls for legal interventions against some pregnant women with chronic substance abuse problems. In this paper I examine the legal and social science arguments used to support and oppose these interventions. Several assumptions about the behaviors of pregnant women that are used to support the arguments are described. The types of social science research that could inform the ongoing debate about interventions with pregnant women are explored.

A 2-year longitudinal analysis of the relationships between violent assault and substance use in women.

A 2-year longitudinal analysis of the relationships between violent assault and substance use in women.

A 2-year longitudinal analysis of the relationships between violent assault and substance use in women.

Women experience alarming levels of physical and sexual assault, which may lead to escalation of substance use. Reciprocally, evidence from cross-sectional studies indicates that substance use may increase risk of assault. To date, directionality of this relationship remains unclear. This issue is addressed by the present 3-wave longitudinal study in which a national probability sample of 3,006 women were followed for 2 years. Dependent measures were obtained at each wave of the study and included questions about lifetime and new assault status, alcohol abuse, and drug use. Wave 1 use of drugs, but not abuse of alcohol, increased odds of new assault in the subsequent 2 years. Reciprocally, after a new assault, odds of both alcohol abuse and drug use were significantly increased, even among women with no previous use or assault history. For illicit drug use, findings support a vicious cycle relationship in which substance use increases risk of future assault and assault increases risk of subsequent substance use.

Alcohol and Drug Use by Older Women: Results of a National Survey

RésuméL'utilisation et la prédiction de la consommation de drogues et d'alcool chez les femmes de 65 ans et plus ont été étudies au moyen de données tirées de l'Enquête nationale sur l'alcool et les autres drogues (1989). L'utilisation est la même que celles obtenues d'enquêtes antérieures; c'est-à-dire que les femmes plus âgées consomment moins d'alcool, fument moins et utilisent moins de drogues illégales que les autres groupes d'âge et de sexe. Également concordants avec d'autres études, le taux de consommation de médicaments psycholeptiques avec prescription médicale est plus élevé chez les femmes âgées qu'au sein de tout autre groupe. Des analyses bivariées ont démontré une relation significative entre certaines variables sociales et démographiques, et la consommation de drogues et d'alcool. La consommation d'alcool était le fait de personnes célibataires, jeunes, non pratiquantes, en bonne santé et fumant. La consommation de tabac est plus importante chez les personnes plus jeunes, non pratiquantes, en moins bonne santé, bénéficiant moins de soutiens sociaux, consommant de l'alcool et utilisant des médicaments psycholeptiques sous prescription médicale. L'utilisation de ces médicaments (partitulièrement les somnifères) était plutôt le fait de femmes veuves, plus âgées, devotes, en moins bonne santé, ayant un niveau de scolarité moins élevé et un revenu moins élevé, devant faire face à des situations très stressantes, bénéficiant moins de soutien social, fumant et consommant d'autres médicaments psycholeptiques sous prescription médicale. L'analyse des données, réalisée au moyen d'une analyse de composantes principales, a révélé deux dimensions concordantes de la consommation de drogues et d'alcool chez les femmes âgées: une plus grande religiosité associée à une moindre consommation de tabac et d'alcool d'une part et, d'autre part, la consommation de médicaments psycholeptiques de prescription médicale de toutes sortes. Ces résultats sont discutés en fonction de l'utilisation prévue des femmes âgées de demain et du besoin de mieux comprendre le contexte social de la consommation de drogues et d'alcool chez les femmes âgées, où la consommationm d'alcool va de légère à modéreé, mais où le taux de consommation de médicaments psycholeptiques sous prescription medicale est plus élevé qu'au sein de tout autre groupe d'âge et de sexe.