Women's use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in Canada = Les canadiennes et l'usage d'alcool, de tabac et d'autres drogue

308 Pages·1996·15.7 MB·English

by  Adrian, Manuella, 1947-

9
HISÏÏHRE
E OF ALCOHOL,
BACCO AND OTHEiypRUGS
i^pBS
CANADA DE L
IN
POPULATIONS
POPULATIONS
CHARACTtl^TlCS
ET L’USAGE
.fi—-'
D’ALCOOL, DE TARA»
PJTRES
DROOqES
?OBA
Addiction Fondation
Research delarecherche
Foundation surlatoxicomanie
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2017 with funding from
University of Toronto
https://archive.org/details/womensuseofalcoh00adri_0
USE OF ALCOHOL,
TOBACCO AND OTHER DRUGS
CANADA
IN
LES
ET L'USAGE
D'ALCOOL, DE TABAC ET
D'AUTRES DROGUES
Edited by Manuelle Adrian, Colleen Lundy and Marc Eliany
%
ARF
AddictionResearchFoundation
33RussellStreet
Toronto,Ontario
Canada M5S2S1
CanadianCataloguinginPublicationData
Mainentryundertitle:
Women'suseofalcohol,tobaccoandotherdrugsinCanada-Lescanadiennesetl'usage
d'alcool,detabacetd'autresdrogues
EditedbyManuellaAdrian,ColleenLundyandMarcEliany.
TextinEnglishorFrenchwithsummariesinFrenchorEnglish.
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
ISBN0-88868-260-3
I. Women-Alcoholuse-Canada. 2. Women-Tobaccouse-Canada. 3.Women-Druguse-Canada.
4. Womenalcoholics-Servicesfor-Canada. 5.Women-Servicesfor-Canada. 1.Adrian,Manuella,1947-
II. Lundy,Colleen,1946- III. Eliany,Marc. IV.Ontario.AddictionResearchFoundation. V.Title:Les
canadiennesetl'usaged'alcool,detabacetd'autresdrogues.
HV4999.W64W65 1996 362.29'082 C96-930380-7E
Catalogagedela BibliothèquenationaleduCanada
Vedetteprincipaleautitre:
Women'suseofalcohol,tobaccoandotherdrugsinCanada-LesCanadiennesetl'usage
d'alcool,detabacetd'autresdrogues
EditéparManuellaAdrian,ColleenLundyetMarcEliany.
Texteenanglaisouenfrançais,aveclesrésumésenfrançaisouenanglais.
Comprenddesréférencesbibliographiques.
ISBN0-88868-260-3
1.Femmes-Consommationd'alcool-Canada. 2.Femmes-Usagedutabac-Canada. 3. Femmes-Usage
desdrogues-Canada. 4.Femmesalcooliques.Servicesaux-Canada. 5.Femmes-Servicesaux-Canada.
1.Adrian,Manuella, 1947- ILLundy,Colleen, 1946- III. Eliany,Marc. IV.Ontario.Fondationdelarecherche
surlatoxicomanie. V.Titre: LesCanadiennesetl'usaged'alcool,detabacetd'autresdrogues.
HV4999.W64W651996 362.29'082 C96-930380-7F
Table of contents/Table des matières
PREFACE/PRÉFAci
Introduction
Abstract/Résumé
History/Historique
Chapter1 HistoryofCanadianWomen'sUseofAlcohol,TobaccoandOtherDrugs
Historiquedel'usaged'alcool,detabacetd'autresdrogueschezlesCanadiennes
byjparLorraineGreaves 2
Chapter2 TheHistoricalContextofMedicalizationandGender:ItsRelationshiptoAlcoholandOtherDrugUseinCanada
Contextehistoriquedelamédicalisationselonlessexes :lienavecl'usaged'alcooletd'autresdroguesauCanada
byjparJuanneClarke 14
Chapter3 CanadianWomenandtheTemperanceMovement:AHistoricalPerspective
LesCanadiennesetlemouvementantialcoolique:unpointdevuehistorique
byjparLouiseNadeauandKathrynHarvey 21
Life Cycle/étapes de la vie
Chapter4 YoungWomen:Alcohol,TobaccoandOtherDrugs
Lesjeunesfemmesetl'alcool,letabacetlesautresdrogues
byjparColleenLundy,VirginiaCarverandLindaPederson 38
Chapter5 Travailleuses,chômeusesetfemmesaufoyer:l'alcool,letabac,lesmédicamentspsychotropesetlesdrogues:
particularitésdetroisstatutsd'emploi
WorkingWomen, UnemployedWomenandHousewives:Alcohol,Tobacco,Psychotropic
MedicationandDrugsinRelationtoThreeEmploymentStatuses
byjparPaulineMorissette,-AntoninePaquin,SergeChevalierandDanielleBlais 52
Chapter6 WomenAged65andOver:AlcoholondDrugUse
Lesfemmesâgéesde65ansetplusetleurusaged'alcooletdedrogues
byjparKathrynGraham,VirginiaCarverandPamela/. Brett 82
Special Populations/Populations spéciales
Chapter7 MulticulturalInfluencesonWomen'sUseofAlcohol,TobaccoandDrugs
Influencesculturellessurlaconsommationd'alcool,detabacetdedrogueschezlesCanadiennes
byjparManuellaAdrian,ChristianeDini,GinaStodutoandLisa MacGregor 104
J.
Chapter8 CanadianIndigenousWomenandSubstanceUse
Lesautochtonescanadiennesetl'usagededroguespsychotropes
byjparKim Scott 129
Table of contents/Table des matières
Special Characteristics oe Substance Use
IN Women/Caractéristiques de l'abus de
DROGUES PSYCHOTROPES CHEZ LES FEMMES
Chapter9 LicitDrugUseandDependenceAmongCanadianWomen
UsagededrogueslégalesetdépendancechezlesCanadiennes
by/pnrEllen Tabiscz, EvaJanacek,RobertaFerrenceandLuciaEarinon 145
Chapter10 GenderDifferencesinAlcohol-RelatedVictimization:AnAnalysisofthe 1989NationalAlcohol
andOtherDrugsSurvey
Différencesdutauxdevictimisationliéeàl'usaged'alcool,selonlesexe:analysedesrésultatsde
l'Enquêtenationalesurl'alcooletlesautresdrogues, 1989
bylparFlorenceKellner,ShirleyMills,SuzanneHillandIkuko Webster 157
Chapter11 PredictorsofDrinkingAmongCanadianWomenandMen
Prédicteursdelaconsommationd'alcoolchezlesCanadiensetlesCanadiennes
bylpar]imeChaikelson 175
Prevention and Treatment/Prévention et
TRAITEMENT
Chapter12 SubstanceAbuse:PreventionandTreatmentforWomen
Préventionettraitementdel'abusdedroguespsychotropeschezlesfemmes
bylparLynnLightfoot,ManuellaAdrian,GillianLeighandJoyceThompson 186
Chapter13 Women'sUseofandViewsofSubstanceAbuseTreatment
Traitementdelatoxicomanie:opiniondesfemmesetusagequ'ellesenfont
bylparLynnLightfoot,ManuellaAdrian,GillianLeighandJoyceThompson 208
Policy/Politiques
Chapter14 CanadianWomenondSubstanceUse:OverviewandPolicyImplications
lesCanadiennesetlesdroguespsychotropes:aperçuetconséquencespolitiques
bylparJudith Blackwell, WilfredaE. ThurstonandKathrynGraham 228
Technical appendix/Annexe technique
Chapter15 TheNationalAlcoholandOtherDrugsSurvey, 1989:TechnicalNotes
Enquêtenationalesurl'alcooletlesautresdrogues, 1989:notestechniques
bylparMarcEliany 247
Glossary/Glossaire
Biographical Data/Notices biographiques
Preface
W
omen's UseofAlcohol, TobaccoandOtherDrugs in Canadaaddressesabroadrangeofissuesthat
affectwomenandsubstanceabuseinCanada,includingtreatmentand socialpolicyresponses.
Thisbooktakesafeministperspectiveonwomenand substanceuse,basedonpragmaticconsidera-
tionsoftherealitiesofwomen'severydayexperiences.
Theinitialforcebehind thisprojectwasMarcEliany,oftheDepartmentofHealthandWelfare
Canada (nowHealthCanada),who,intheSpringof1990,calledameetinginOttawa offemale
Canadianresearchersin theaddictionsfield.Thismeetingwasdesigned toidentifyissuesin the
addictionsfield thatpertainedtoCanadianwomen. Itwouldserveasapreludetoareviewofthe
literatureand ananalysisofthedataobtained fromtheNationalAlcoholand OtherDrugsSurvey
(NADS),bothofwhichcouldshedsomelightonissuesofparticularconcerntowomenatthis time.
TheNADSwasthefirstnationalCanadiansurveythatspecificallyaddressed abroad rangeofcon-
cernsin theaddictionsfield,includingthenatureand extentoftheuseofalcohol,tobaccoand other
drugs,theresultingpersonal,familyandcommunityproblems,aswellasinterventionsused todeal
with theseproblems. HealthandWelfareCanada providedseedmoneytoassistintheproject.
Thefirstsectionofthisbookplaceswomen'ssubstanceusewithinasocialandhistoricalcon-
textthatincludesthemedicalizationofwomen'slifeexperiencesand women'sparticipation in the
temperancemovement.Thenextsection explores therelationshipbetweensubstanceuseand
women'slifesituations,fromyouthtoold age,includingthecourseoftheirexperienceinthepaid
laborforce(whileemployedorunemployed)orinunpaid workin thehome.Thenatureandextent
ofsubstanceusebyindigenouswomenand theinfluenceofcultureonwomen'susearealsostudied.
Thethirdsectionaddressessubstance-abuseissuesofparticularconcerntowomen,includingmulti-
pledruguse,theuseoflicitdrugs(bothprescriptiondrugsand over-the-counter [OTC] drugs),alco-
hol-relatedvictimization,andpatternsandpredictorsofalcoholuseand abuseinwomen.Thefinal
sectionexaminesprevention,socialpolicystrategiesand treatmentforwomen.Theauthorstake
accountofthefactthatmostprogramshavebeendeveloped formenand havenotprovided for
women'sneeds.
Acollaborativeworksuchasthisinevitablyentails thecontributionsofnumerouspeople.
Theeditorsmustfirstthankthechapterauthorsfortheircontributions.Theviewsexpressedin this
publicationarethoseoftheauthorsand donotnecessarilyreflectthoseoftheorganizationswith
whichtheyareassociated. Inadditiontotheauthors,theeditorswould liketothankDeniseLachance,
whoofferedadministrativeassistanceearlyintheproject;FlorenceKellner,whohasreviewed many
ofthechaptersinthisbook;IrisTaylorandJoanVanceforinitialediting;KarenShenfeld forcopyedit-
ing;JoanMoreauandAncalalomiteanu,whoprovidedbibliographicand textediting;AntonHelman,
whoprepareda numberofthechaptersummaries;Anca lalomiteanu,forhertranslationassistance;
LouiseNadeauand LiseSaint-Jean,whoreviewed theFrenchsummaries;LizThompson,forword
processingthefinaldraft;andJenniferGriffithsand MinghaoHer, fortheirassistance. Wewould also
liketothanktheEditorialServices,CreativeServicesand MarketingstaffoftheAddictionResearch
Foundationforproductionandpublishingassistance. Finally,wemustthankRobinRoomandKaren
GoldenbergoftheAddictionResearch Foundationfortheirsupportofthisefforttorevealanimpor-
tantareaofconcernforwomen.
ManuellaAdrian,Colleen LundyandMarcEliany
v
Introduction
The Need for a Woman-Centred Approach to Substance
Abuse Issues'
Manuella Adrian, Florence Kellner’
W
omenmakeupthemajority(50.5percent) ofCanada'spopulationof29million. Itwasnot
until recently,however,thatwomen'shealthconcernswerestudiedbyresearchers,otherthan
asanextensionofstudiesonmen.
Thiscollectionreportstheresultsofworkundertakenaspartofthefirstcomprehensive
studyofwomenand substanceabuseinCanada.Thisworkwascarried outby32researchers-most
ofwhom werewomen-includingphysicians,sociologists,psychologists,historians,socialworkers
and specialistsinanumberofotherareas.
Usingafeministperspective,weexaminedarangeofissuesrelatingtosubstanceabuse
amongCanadianwomen.Theseissuesincluded: thehistoricalandsocialforcesaffectingwomen's
substanceuse;substanceuseand abusethroughthewoman'slifecycle,fromyouththroughthe
workingyears-whetherpaid ornot-tooldage;theexperienceofspecialpopulations,including
ethnicminoritiesand nativepeople;aspectsofsubstanceuseofparticularrelevancetowomen,such
aslicitand prescriptiondruguse,polydruguseandvictimization;treatmentofsubstanceabuse
amongwomen;and policyissues.Thisintroductionprovidesabriefsummaryofthefindingspresent-
ed inthefollowingchaptersand offerssuggestionsforresearchand policydevelopmentrelatingto
substanceusebywomen.
ResultsfromCanada'sfirstcomprehensiveNationalSurveyofAlcoholandOtherDrugUse
(NADS) werecompared withtrendsevidentin thescientificliteratureinordertosituatetheissues
discussedin thisvolumeinthecontextofsubstanceuseandabusepatternsamongCanadianwomen.
Examinationofhistoricaland otherarchivalmaterialwasalsoparticularlyimportantin thisregard.
TheNADSsurveywascarried outin 1989and includedinformationon 11,634Canadians
aged 15andover,ofwhom6,343werewomen. Datawerecollected throughanonymoustelephone
interviews(over98percentofCanadianhouseholdshaveatleastonetelephone)byStatistics
Canada, thenationalgovernmentstatisticaloffice.Seventy-ninepercentofthosecontactedaspart
oftheNADSsurveyresponded. Informationwasobtainedonalcoholand otherdruguse,reasons
foruse,circumstancesofuse,influenceoffamilyandfriends,consequencesofuse,responsetoconse-
quences,aswellasattitudes,beliefsandopinions. Responseratesforindividualquestionsvaried
between90and 100percent. (SeeChapter15forfurtherdetails.)
Extent of Drug Use
ThefindingsoftheNADSsurveyofpsychoactivesubstanceuseamongCanadianwomenaresum-
marizedinTable 1.
VI
Introduction
Table 1
Women's SubstanceUse, Canada, 1989
Substance Users (%)
Alcohol 72
Tobacco 34
IllicitDrugs
Marijuana/hashish 4
Cocaine/crack <3
LSD/acid 2
Speed/amphetamine <2
Heroin <1
Over-the-CounterDrugs
Painrelievers/Aspirin 61
Allergymedications 11
Cough/coldremedies 21
UsersofPrescriptionDrugs Users(%) Doctor'sOrders (%)
Codeine/Demerol/morphine 6 76
Sleepingpills 5 90
Tranquillizers 4 98
Antidepressants 2 99
Dietpills/stimulants 1 53
Alcohol Use
InCanada,72percentofwomenreported drinkingatleastonceintheyearprecedingtheNADS
survey. Womentendedtodrinkinfrequently: onlyone-thirdoffemaledrinkersdrankonceaweekor
more.Ofthosewhoreporteddrinkinginthepreviousyear,morethanone-halfdrankwine(57per
cent),one-third (37percent) drankspiritsand one-quarter(24percent) drankbeer. Womentypically
had2.2drinksperoccasionand werelikelytohavehad threetofouroccasionsperyearwhenthey
drankfiveormoredrinks. Womenweremostlikelytodrinkwhentheywereinbars (95 percent) or
onsocialoccasions (65percent),and itwasduringtheseoccasionsthattheiralcoholconsumptionwas
highest.Theleadingreasongivenfordrinkingwastobesociable(74percent). Ofthosewhodid not
drink,almosthalf(44percent) saidtheychosenottodrinkbecausetheydid notlikethetaste,while
one-quartercited healthreasons.
Tobacco Use
OfCanadianwomen,34percentsaidtheywerecurrentsmokersand23percentsaidtheysmoked
daily.Consumptionaveraged 17cigarettespersmokerperday.
Introduction
Illicit Drug Use
Accordingto theNADSsurvey,onein fiveCanadianwomenhadusedmarijuanaorhashishatleast
oncein theirlives,althoughonlyfourpercenthaddonesointhepastyear.Tenpercentofusersused
thedrugstwoormoretimesaweek. Marijuana/hashishwasusuallyused athome(89percentof
users) orata party(60percent),withfriends(91 percent),inordertofeelhigh(71 percent),tofeel
relaxed (64percent)ortoseewhatitwaslike(60percent).
Otherillicitdrugusewaslessfrequent. Overtheyearprecedingthesurvey,less thanthree
percentused cocaine/crack,abouttwopercentusedLSDoracid,lessthantwopercentusedspeed
oramphetamines,and lessthanonepercent(0.6percent)used heroin.
Licit Drug Use
Regardingprescriptionnarcoticorpsychoactivedruguse,over themonthprecedingthesurvey,six
percentofwomenreportedusingcodeine,Demerolormorphine,fivepercentused sleepingpills,
fourpercentused tranquillizerssuchasValium,twopercentusedantidepressantsandonepercent
used dietpillsorstimulants.Over90percent(andupto99percentinsomecases)oftranquillizer,
sleepingpillorantidepressantusewasondoctor'sorders.Only75percentofnarcoticusewason
doctor'sorders,possiblybecauseinCanadacodeineisfound inanumberofover-the-counterdrugs,
includingTylenol,222andsomecoughremedies,indosesofeightmilligramsorless. Forsome
respondents,thecategory "dietpills" mayalsohaveincludedover-the-counterpreparations,which
mayaccountforthelow proportion (53percent) whoused theseproductsondoctor'sorders.
Withregard toover-the-counterdrugsavailablewithoutprescription,61 percentofwomen
reported theuseofpainrelieverssuchasAspirin, 11 percentusedallergymedicinesand 21 percent
used coughorcoldremedies.
Comparison to Men's Substance Use
CanadianwomenwerelesslikelythanCanadianmentoconsumealcoholorillicitdrugs,butthey
weremorelikelytosmokeoruselegalprescriptionorover-the-counterdrugs. Whilethesameoverall
patternofalcohol,tobaccoanddrugusewasfoundinallcategoriesofwomen,therewerevariations
amongcertainageandoccupationalgroups.
Age and Work Status
Theconsumptionpatternsofyoungerwomenand workingwomentendedtoconvergewithpatterns
ofusebymen. Comparedwithotherwomen,thoseaged 15to 19weremorelikelytousemarijuana,
dietpillsortobacco-moreyoungwomenthanyoungmensmoke-butwerelesslikelytodrinkalco-
holoruseotherlicitorillicitdrugs. Workingwomenweremorelikelythan homemakersorunem-
ployedwomen todrink,smokeofusemarijuana. Homemakersweremorelikelytoconsumelicit
drugs,withconsumptionhighestamonglesseducated women,poorerwomen,andwomenwho
werewidowed ordivorced.Womenaged65andolderhadthelowestalcohol,tobaccoand marijuana
consumptioncomparedwithwomeninotheragegroupsortomen,andweremorelikelytobelife-
viii