Gender affects how people with alcohol use disorder cope with their condition, according to a Brazilian study released in Drug and Alcohol Review.
The study was conducted between August and September of 2019 and involved 15 participants residing in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.
“Female alcoholism is a public health problem for which membership in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) groups is an effective treatment,” the journal article states.
“As AA is predominantly attended by men in Brazil, the aim of this article is to understand the meaning of this problem and the experience of AA meetings for women.”
The findings discussed how alcoholism in women is associated with social stigma and sharing experiences become difficult as a result.
“Alcoholism in women is marked by social stigma, making it difficult to find women willing to share their experiences and participate in qualitative research on this important issue in public health,” the article states. “In these women-only meetings, they shared their experiences, and alcoholism is referred to as a ‘wounded soul’ that causes deep anguish often experienced in the isolation of their own homes.”