Drug Use and Attitudes

In a nationwide survey of American's attitudes towards drug abuse conducted in 1995 by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, women's views differed markedly from those of men.(15) Substantially more women than men see drugs as an extremely serious problem in their communities, a problem which they believe is getting worse.(16) They are particularly concerned about increased drug use among young people and the spread of AIDS through contaminated needles.(17) In contrast, men express somewhat greater concern about violent and property crimes related to drugs as well as about higher health care costs from treating drug users.(18)

Although the great majority of both men and women have confidence that treatment can reduce drug abuse, women more strongly favor putting additional funds into prevention and treatment programs.(19) As to specific approaches to control damage due to illegal drugs, women also show greater support for needle exchange programs and testing reckless drivers for drugs.(20)

A 1997 study of parental attitudes by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America found that mothers are more likely than fathers to talk to their children about drugs.(21) More mothers than fathers believe that their children can easily obtain marijuana and other drugs.(22) Mothers are also more optimistic than fathers about their ability to reduce the drug problem.(23)

Tracking Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use Among Women

Until quite recently, women drug users received little special focus from either researchers or public officials responsible for anti-drug programs. Twenty-five years ago, at the height of the heroin epidemic, a literature search of the topic produced very few references to women-most of them to laboratory studies involving female rats. This silence about women's drug use reflected a long history of public thinking about addiction largely in terms of men. In part, this perception was based on the lower numbers of women who sought treatment as well as the stigma attached to illicit drug use.

At the turn of the century when these drugs were legal, opiate and cocaine use was widespread among women. (Many home remedies for pain, nerves, and even dyspeptic children, included the opiate laudanum; Coca-Cola syrup relied on cocaine for its energizing qualities until 1903.) After the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914 outlawed these drugs, women's drug use became more hidden. By the 1960s, alcohol, tranquilizers, amphetamines and other prescription drugs tended to be women's drugs of misuse. Public concern about illicit drug use and drug-related crime still concentrated on men. Prevalence estimates during that period indicated that women accounted for fewer than one in four addicts. As a result, government-funded programs which became national models for drug treatment were designed primarily for men, not women.

Even now, a decade after the emergence of the crack cocaine epidemic created millions of new addicts, many of them women, detailed information on women's drug use patterns is relatively limited. The primary sources are the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, which interviews adolescents and adults living in households, and the Monitoring the Future Study, which surveys junior high, high school and college students. Both surveys are conducted annually and collect extensive self-report data on alcohol, tobacco and other drug use. Although some gender breakdowns are published regularly, in-depth data are often not available without a special request and payment of a fee. Unless gender differences are specifically analyzed in published national surveys, they can easily be overlooked in the wealth of other data on drug use.

Other Federal data sources, such as the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) also publish limited data related to women and drugs. In producing Keeping Score 1998, Drug Strategies compiled all of the data available from Federal sources, much of which has never been published before. Detailed tables are presented on pages 34-36.

Nationwide surveys confirm that drug use is increasing among women, often more rapidly than among men. From 1992 to 1997, for example, regular (past month) use of cocaine increased slightly for women while men's cocaine use declined slightly.(24) Nonetheless, rates of use for men were almost double those for women.(25)

Rates of smoking and drinking among women are drawing closer to those of men. However, for binge drinking, men's rates are three times higher than women's.(26) Smoking among men has dropped, and women are catching up.(27) And while men still smoke more heavily, women appear to be less successful at quitting.(28) Far more often than men, women cite stress and concerns about weight as primary reasons for smoking.(29)

Studies in men have confirmed a genetic predisposition for alcoholism. New research on twins in Australia has found a similar genetic link in women. Women are also more vulnerable to the effects of tobacco.(30) Lung cancer is three times more likely to develop in women than in men who smoke the same amount.(31) At least half of women who smoke will die of tobacco-related diseases.(32) Racial and ethnic differences in use patterns are particularly striking among women smokers.(33)

Hospital emergency room visits for drug-related problems, including overdose and withdrawal, provide additional information about women's drug use patterns. The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) reports that emergency room visits by women because of drug-related problems rose 35 percent between 1990 and 1996.(34) During that period, the number of visits related to heroin and marijuana rose more rapidly for women than for men.(35)

Among older women, the overuse of psychoactive prescription drugs, such as tranquilizers, sedatives and anti-depressants, poses a particular threat. A recent study found that one in four women over 60 takes at least one of these drugs daily and that some of them develop serious drug problems.(36)

Trends Among Teenage Girls

In recent years, drugs have become an equal opportunity problem for teenagers. The Monitoring the Future Study, which surveys junior high and high school students, reports that girls are catching up with boys with regard to alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, and in some cases, already surpassing them. Young people who become involved in substance abuse often also engage in other problem behaviors, such as truancy, delinquency and early pregnancy. Effective prevention efforts promote resilience and protective factors that strengthen a teen's resistance to high risk activities.

Alcohol: The 1997 Monitoring the Future Study found that boys and girls report similar rates of drinking. Almost one half of all 8th graders acknowledge drinking in the past year, despite the fact that alcohol is illegal for minors.(37) By 10th grade, two in three students report drinking in the past year.(38)

Drinking rates are increasing much faster for girls than for boys. More than half of all 10th grade girls reported drinking in the past year, a 38 percent jump since 1993.(39) If the current trend continues, by 2000, drinking rates among 10th grade girls will have surpassed those of boys.(40)

Binge drinking (defined as having five or more drinks at least once in the past two weeks) is also increasing for both boys and girls. Rates for boys still exceed those for girls; however, the gap is closing, particularly for older teens. For example, in 1997, one in four 12th grade girls reported binge drinking compared to one in five 12th grade girls in 1992-an increase of 20 percent.(41) An even higher percentage of 12th grade girls reported having been drunk in the past month (29 percent), and this rate is climbing faster for girls than for boys.(42)

By college, women students are drinking even more heavily. The Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study found that in 1997 almost 40 percent-two in five-college women reported binge drinking within two weeks prior to the survey; many binged more frequently.(43) Men's drinking rates still surpass those of women: almost half the college men binge drink.(44) Campus norms tend to encourage drinking, so that having five drinks in a row (the definition of binge drinking) is considered typical. This is particularly true in sorority and fraternity houses, where four in five residents report binge drinking.(45)

The social norms that once tended to limit female drinking are apparently no longer effective constraints. This change is reflected in more accepting attitudes towards drinking. Perceptions that binge drinking carries "great risk" are falling for both boys and girls; however, the rate of decrease is much faster among girls.(46) So, too, with regard to strong disapproval of people who binge drink: disapproval rates are falling more rapidly among girls.(47)

Tobacco: Girls and boys report similar rates of smoking, and these rates are climbing. One in five 8th graders say they have smoked at least once in the past month.(48) By 12th grade, almost one in four students acknowledges smoking daily.(49) Tenth grade girls are especially vulnerable: from 1992 to 1997, regular smoking (once a month or more) among this group jumped 40 percent.(50) As with drinking, girls report more accepting attitudes towards smokers and lower perceptions of risk in regular smoking.(51)

At every age, women are more likely than men to become addicted to tobacco. Smoking rates among girls vary considerably by race, with highest use among white, non-Hispanic girls and lowest among black, non-Hispanic girls.(52)

Two major reasons why teen girls turn to smoking are concerns about weight and stress. A recent survey of more than 33,000 adolescents found that frequent dieting increased the likelihood of smoking among girls in grades 7-12, but not among boys.(53) Moreover, many girls identify with the images of health, slenderness, and popularity offered in cigarette advertisements. Smoking also appears to relieve stress. In the 1997 Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adolescent Girls, two in three girls who smoked regularly said they did so because of stress.(54) Smoking was related to depression: girls with depressive symptoms were more than twice as likely to report smoking (23 percent) than were girls with low or no symptoms (11 percent).(55)

Marijuana, Cocaine and Other Drugs:Both teenage girls and boys report increases in the use of cocaine, stimulants, LSD and other illicit drugs since 1992; however, marijuana remains the dominant drug of choice among teens after alcohol and tobacco. Marijuana use has more than doubled among young teens since 1992.(56) In 1997, one in five 8th grade girls had tried marijuana, compared to one in ten five years earlier.(57) However, among 12th grade girls, marijuana use is increasing even faster than it is among boys.(58) Moreover, by the year 2002, both boys' and girls' marijuana use will reach the epidemic levels of the late 1970s unless prevention efforts prove effective.(59)

Inhalants: Inhalants-common household substances like paint thinner, dry cleaning fluid, and airplane glue-pose a particularly serious threat. Children and their parents are often not aware that inhalants can cause severe neurological damage or sudden death. In 1997, more than one in five 8th grade girls nationwide reported having tried inhalants, a 30 percent jump since 1992.(60) Rates of use are increasing most rapidly among young girls.(61)

Girls Are Trying Drugs at Younger Ages

In the past three decades, teens have been trying alcohol, tobacco and other drugs at increasingly younger ages.(62/63) This trend, which has been especially marked among girls, has serious adverse consequences.

The younger a child is when she begins experimenting with alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, the more likely it is that she will develop dependency in later years. Every year that drug use is prevented buys important time for personal growth and intellectual development that help children resist pressures to use. A recent study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that the younger the age of drinking onset, the greater the chance that a child will at some point in life develop alcohol problems.(64) Adolescents who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who begin drinking at age 21.(65) Similar patterns are apparent with smoking. One in three girls who try cigarettes will become a regular smoker.(66) However, if adolescents reach age 21 without smoking, it is highly unlikely that they will ever begin.

Alcohol, tobacco and other drugs can seriously harm the intellectual, social and physical development of adolescents. Progress in school can be jeopardized, both through impaired concentration and disruptive behavior. Girls who smoke put themselves at higher risk for heart disease, lung cancer and bladder cancer than non-smokers. Drinking and other drug use lower inhibitions and can lead to high-risk behavior with particularly dangerous implications for girls and women. For example, condom use during intercourse is one-third less common among girls who drink more than five times a month than among girls who do not drink.(67) Thus, girls who drink are at increased risk for early pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). According to a recent Harvard School of Public Health study of alcohol and other drug use at colleges and universities, drinking is involved in two-thirds of unsafe sexual practices and three-quarters of all date rapes.(68)

Related Data Tables   |   Next Section

Keeping Score 1998
Introduction | Drug Use and Attitudes | Healthand Welfare |
Drugs and Crime | Lookingto the Future | Data Tables | Endnotes

Spotlight | Methadone Maintenance Treatment | Welfare Reform and Drug Abuse
Women and Drug Abuse: Court Innovations

Programs | Prevention Programs | Pregnant and Parenting Women's Programs
Family Treatment Programs| Criminal Justice Programs

Also available, for easy printing... Keeping Score 1998, Acrobat version (1MB PDF file) Acrobat Reader 3.0 required

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