Reevaluating risk factors for women's drinking: a study of blue-collar wives

Social indicators for problem drinking among women are based on studies of women seeking treatment for alcoholism or alcohol-related problems. Prior studies of risk factors have focused on life history, personality, genetic predisposition, and sociocultural factors. Virtually no attention has been paid to antecedents of drinking patterns in nonclinical populations of women. In this study of alcohol use among 31 industrial workers and their families, most of the wives clearly exhibited known sociocultural risk factors for heavy or problem drinking among women, yet most were light or moderate drinkers. Based on an ethnographic and case study research design, we propose four explanations for this anomaly in relation to cultural characteristics of working-class life. Beliefs, attitudes, and other social constraints that appear to significantly inhibit the development of problem drinking among women in this apparently high-risk population are identified.