Paths to Sobriety: Insights for Treatment of Women Alcoholics

摘要

The primary goal of the study reported here was to learn about alcoholism recovery through the eyes of 71 women who have undergone the halfway house experience. The experiences of being a woman, and more particularly, a woman with alcohol problems, are recounted and analyzed. Findings from the study support the position that a commonality of cognitions, coping strategies, and behaviors identify alcoholic women at various stages of the recovery process. Recovery from alcoholism is viewed as a redefinition of self which occurs through the acquisition of a cognitive map of sobriety. It is suggested that understanding alcoholism recovery for women is directly linked to an understanding of sex-role experiences. A sample treatment history questionnaire is included.