Women and Alcohol Use Over the Lifecourse: An Intersectional Approach

• In Event: 2151 - Section on Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco Roundtable
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 3. Factors Associated with Substance Use Roundtables

Abstract

Alcohol consumption is associated with a range of negative health outcomes and is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. Along with suicide and drug use, deaths due to alcohol, so called “deaths of despair,” are contributing to increased death rates and a leveling off of life expectancy. Women’s alcohol consumption has increased in recent years and the gender gap in alcohol use is nearly closed. However, why women are drinking more alcohol remains unclear. There is also a lack of research on alcohol use among economically disadvantaged women and women of color. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we track women’s alcohol use over the lifecourse in relation to various sociodemographic (race/ethnicity, partner status, children, education, employment) and contextual variables (poverty status, urban/rural residence). Our study takes an intersectional approach and assesses how women’s various layers of social identity and social locations affect their use of alcohol over time. Our results indicate that lifecourse factors have different effects on the drinking behavior of White, Black, and Hispanic women, highlighting the limitations of previous research that groups women together in relation to men.

Authors

• Susan D. Stewart, Iowa State University

• Gloria Jones-Johnson, Iowa State University

• Cassandra J. Dorius, Iowa State University