One hundred alcoholic women in medicine. An interview study
L. Bissell and J. K. Skorina
To examine the patterns of diagnosis, referral, and help-seeking behaviors
of alcoholic women physicians, 95 women physicians and five women medical
students were interviewed. Both groups were self-described alcoholics and
members of Alcoholics Anonymous and were abstinent from alcohol for at
least one year. Subjects participated in one-hour interviews with a
recovered alcoholic professional woman. Addictions to drugs other than
alcohol were common, with only 40% reporting addiction to alcohol alone.
Seventy-three reported serious suicidal ideation prior to sobriety, 26
after the drinking ended. Thirty-eight had made overt suicide attempts, 15
more than once. The presence of alcoholics in the nuclear family and
marital instability were common. Treatment experiences varied from none
other than Alcoholics Anonymous (21%) to long-term residential treatment of
15 weeks or more per episode (23%). Most had reached treatment through
circumstances other than referral by therapists or intervention by
impaired-physician committees. Their current procedures should be evaluated
with the particular needs of women in mind.
