Changes in femininity,masculinity, and self-regard among women alcoholics in residential treatment

Specially designed scales of Self-Regard, Masculinity, and Femininity were administered to 31 women alcoholics at several times during the course of a residential treatment program and to a comparison group of recovered alcoholics with long records of sobriety. The results show that (1) there is a sharp and immediate increase among alcoholic women in self-esteem during the first 30 days of rehabilitation; (2) this restoration of self-esteem is closely linked with a reaffirmation of femininity in older, but not in younger, women; (3) women with histories of homosexual involvement demonstrate a notably different pattern of self-reassessment.Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services BoardThis study was conducted with the support of grant #AA03185 from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.