Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S C Wilsnack.
Increased communication from significant others and perceived interpersonal support correlated with reduced student drinking during the first 12 weeks of medical school. Writing brief essays on any subject of personal interest which were read, annotated and quickly returned by a faculty member correlated with reduced student drinking during the final 12 weeks of the first year.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Intensive interviews with 10 lesbian alcohol abusers revealed strong dependency needs, low self-esteem, and a high incidence of depression. Drinking increased power-related behaviors, enhanced self-esteem, and for many subjects increased feelings of depression. The findings suggest that lesbians with alcohol problems need (a) therapists who will accept their sexual orientation and (b) treatment that will help them increase their sense of power and self-esteem without alcohol.
Attitudes toward traditional feminine ideals did not distinguish adolescent girls who drink from those who do not drink. However, among White, Black and Spanish-American girls who drink, rejection of traditional femininity was associated with drinking more, more symptomatically, and with more problem consequences.
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A previous community study of older adults (Graham et al., 1996) indicated a relationship between alcohol problems and use of tranquilizing drugs despite no relationship between alcohol consumption and tranquilizer use. The present paper explores this issue further using longitudinal data from a representative sample of American women. The results replicated previous findings of a significant relationship between alcohol problems and tranquilizer use that was unrelated to alcohol consumption. Analyses of longitudinal patterns indicated that alcohol problems in 1981 predicted subsequent use of tranquilizing drugs and that this relationship may be moderated by anxiety, with the relationship being strongest for respondents who reported few or no problems with anxiety. The results indicated no support for the relationship being due to: a pharmacological interaction of alcohol with tranquilizing drugs; use of tranquilizing drugs precipitating alcohol problems; or depression, anxiety, poor health or childhood sexual abuse being common causes of both alcohol problems and tranquilizer use. The link between alcohol problems and use of tranquilizing drugs needs to be investigated further to increase understanding of addictive behaviors.
This paper presents the first data available on drinking and reproductive dysfunction from a representative national sample of women. In this stratified household sample of 917 women (weighted n = 2552), dysmenorrhea, heavy menstrual flow, and premenstrual discomfort increased with drinking level and were particularly strongly associated with reported consumption of 6 or more drinks a day at least once a week. Women who consumed 6 or more drinks/day at least 5 times a week had elevated rates of gynecologic surgery other than hysterectomy, but hysterectomy was less common among women averaging 2 oz or more of ethanol/day, with age effects controlled. Lifetime rates of obstetric disorders showed significant elevations at upper levels of drinking (6 or more drinks/day at least 3 times a week for miscarriage or stillbirth and prematurity, and 6 or more drinks/day at least 5 times a week for infertility and birth defects). An unexpected finding was the high rates of menstrual disorders, hysterectomy, miscarriage or stillbirth, and prematurity among temporary abstainers (women reporting alcohol consumption in the past 12 months but not the past 30 days) who had previously drunk only infrequently.