Lesbian Use and Abuse of Alcohol

Abstract

The Boston Lesbian Health Project II, a national survey of 1139 self-identified lesbian women, found higher rates of drinking alcohol, heavy alcohol intake and self reported alcoholism than in national studies of women in general. Several known risk factors for alcoholism were higher in lesbians who self defined as alcoholic in this sample: family history of alcoholism and drug abuse, rape and childhood sexual abuse and report of having made a suicide attempt. These findings are consistent with other studies that found a high rate of drinking alcohol, alcohol abuse and problem drinking among lesbians. The reasons for these findings are not clear and further research is needed to continue to explore the reasons.

Mental health and substance use among sexual minority women who report childhood sexual abuse: A systematic literature review.

“…Table 2 summarizes key characteristics of the final 23 studies, including study design, sample size, and sample characteristics (age, sexual identity, and race/ethnicity). The great majority ( n = 22) of studies were conducted in the U.S., six of these used representative national samples (Drabble et al, 2013; Flynn et al, 2016; Hughes, McCabe, et al, 2010; Morris & Balsam, 2003; Roberts et al, 2005; Zietsch et al, 2012). The only non-U.S. study was conducted in Australia (participants recruited from a twin registry) (Zietsch et al, 2012).…”

“…CSA was also strongly associated with alcohol-related problems (Drabble et al, 2013;Everett et al, 2016;Gilmore et al, 2014;Hequembourg et al, 2013;Hughes, 2003;Hughes et al, 2001Hughes et al, , 2007Hughes, Szalacha, et al, 2010;Johnson et al, 2013;Roberts et al, 2005;Talley et al, 2016;Wilsnack et al, 2008) and substance use disorders (Hughes, McCabe, et al, 2010;Talley et al, 2016). Of the 15 studies examining substance use disorders, only one (Yuan et al, 2014) failed to find an association with CSA.…”

“…("child sexual abuse" OR csa OR "sexual abuse" OR "sex abuse" OR "intrafamilial sexual abuse" OR "extrafamilial sexual abuse" OR "child sexual victimization" OR polyvictimization OR "childhood sexual maltreatment" OR "childhood maltreatment" OR "childhood trauma" OR "child sexual maltreatment" OR molestation OR incest OR "child abuse" OR "childhood sexual abuse" OR "childhood sexual victimization" OR "childhood sexual assault" OR "child sexual assault" OR "adverse childhood experience* OR ACES" OR "childhood adversity") Sexual minority women ("sexual AND gender minorities" OR "sexual minority" OR "sexual minorities" OR lesbian* OR queer* OR pansexual* OR asexual* OR lgbt OR lgb* OR lgbtq OR lgbtqia OR "GLB" OR "homosexual female" OR "homosexual females" OR "homosexual women" OR "homosexual woman" OR "female homosexuality" OR "same-sex relationships" OR "same-sex female relationships" OR "mostly heterosexual women" OR "sexual orientation" OR "queer women" OR "bisexual female") Mental health ("mental health problems" OR "mental disorder*" OR "mental health outcomes" OR "mental health" OR "mental illness*" OR emotional problems OR anxiety OR depress* OR psycho* OR psychiat* OR suicid* OR "post traumatic stress disorder" OR GAD or MDD or PTSD) Substance use "substance use" OR "substance misuse" OR "substance-related disorder*" OR "drug OR addiction*" OR alcohol OR "substance abuse" OR "illicit drug*" OR "illegal drug" OR cannab -Hyman et al, 2004;Drabble et al, 2013;Hequembourg et al, 2013;Hughes, McCabe, et al, 2010;Hughes, Szalacha, et al, 2010;Talley et al, 2016;Wilsnack et al, 2008). Moreover, only 12 studies included a heterosexual comparison group (Andrés-Hyman et al, 2004;Drabble et al, 2013;Flynn et al, 2016;Hughes, 2003;Hughes et al, 2001;Hughes, McCabe, et al, 2010;Hughes, Szalacha, et al, 2010;Matthews et al, 2002;Roberts et al, 2005;Sigurvinsdottir & Ullman, 2016;Wilsnack et al, 2008;Zietsch et al, 2012), and four included cisgender SMM as a comparison group (Flynn et al, 2016;Hughes, McCabe, et al, 2010;Roberts et al, 2005;Zietsch et al, 2012).…”

“…Most (n = 15) of the studies included in this review examined the associations between history of CSA and substance use. Of these, 13 assessed only alcohol-related outcomes (e.g., hazardous drinking) (Drabble et al, 2013;Everett et al, 2016;Gilmore et al, 2014;Hequembourg et al, 2013;Hughes, 2003;Hughes et al, 2001Hughes et al, , 2007Hughes, Szalacha, et al, 2010;Johnson et al, 2013;Roberts et al, 2005;Talley et al, 2016;Wilsnack et al, 2008;Yuan et al, 2014) and two studies assessed both alcohol and other drug use (e.g., marijuana) outcomes (Hughes, McCabe, et al, 2010;Talley et al, 2016). Nearly half of the studies that examined substance use outcomes used data from the Chicago Health and Life Experiences Study (CHLEW) (Everett et al, 2016;Hughes, 2003;Hughes et al, 2001Hughes et al, , 2007Hughes, Szalacha, et al, 2010;Johnson et al, 2013;Wilsnack et al, 2008).…”

“…This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. Andrés-Hyman et al, 2004;Corliss et al, 2009;Gilmore et al, 2014;Hequembourg et al, 2013;Hughes, McCabe, et al, 2010;Matthews et al, 2002;Morris & Balsam, 2003;Roberts et al, 2005;Robohm et al, 2003;Wilsnack et al, 2008). Multiple studies relied on convenience sampling, which is often considered a limitation.…”