Women's Perspectives on Drugs and Alcohol: The Vicious Circle by Pamela Raine

Author:Pamela Raine [Raine, Pamela]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Military, Strategy, Social Science, General, Gender Studies
ISBN: 9781351740920
Google: XvhKDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2018-02-06T04:41:17+00:00

5

Why Women Underuse Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services

Introduction

Whenever Britain’s drug use is talked about, while it should be recognised that the majority of users are male, it must also be remembered that between a quarter and a third are female. (ISDD, 1994, p29)

Women’s under-representation as clients of formal alcohol and drug treatment agencies has been noted by numerous commentators in recent years. Where women do attend treatment they are usually in a minority; furthermore the type of services offered to women has been criticised as inadequate for their needs (Reed, 1985; Ettorre, 1992; DAWN, 1994).

There are certain factors which have been identified as encouraging women to present for alcohol and drug treatment; for example, recognition of a health problem associated with substance use; interference with work or domestic roles; problems with personal or social relationships; or pressure from partners or significant others to bring about change in behaviour (Smith, 1992b). Some women, of course, are coerced into treatment by legal agencies.

Set against these factors, women’s willingness to enter treatment may be negatively affected in certain areas, which can outweigh pressures to seek help. Betsy Thom (1986) notes, for example, that ‘social support networks, societal norms and the structure of treatment agencies promote inequities to women with alcohol related problems’ (p777). However, there is currently a paucity of research on gender in connection with help-seeking and service use.

There is…little research which examines women’s own perceptions of the costs and benefits of entering treatment, or the actual costs experienced by those who do seek help. (Thom and Green, 1996, p207)

An early study concerning women in alcohol treatment was carried out by Beckman and Amaro in California; this identified several important factors affecting women’s substance misuse, which included:

Women’s own perceptions of substance use and attitudes towards seeking help.

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