Abstract
Thirty alcoholic women were compared with their nonalcoholic biological sisters on several measures of sex-role identification. Contrary to an earlier finding that alcoholic women are more masculine than nonalcoholic women in unconscious identification (Wilsnack, 1973), the present study found no significant differences between alcoholics and sister controls on any of the measures utilized. Both groups were more masculine in unconscious identification than the female norm, but control subjects evidenced more internal consistency between actual behavior and expressed attitudes than did alcoholic subjects. It was concluded that an unconscious masculine identification is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition of alcoholism in women. While it is possible that alcoholic women may have experienced more conflict about their masculine identification, this question awaits further study.
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The present research is part of a larger study of women and alcohol funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA380). This paper is based on one portion of a doctoral thesis submitted to the Graduate School of Social Work, Rutgers University. The author is grateful to Harriet Fink and Drs. Eileen M. Corrigan, Elaine Norman, and Sharon C. Wilsnack for their generous assistance in all phases of this research.
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Anderson, S.C. Patterns of sex-role identification in alcoholic women. Sex Roles 6, 231–243 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287345
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287345