$3 Million Grant to Research Alcoholism among Lesbians
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has agreed to fund a $3 million study on lesbian health. The research, spearheaded by University of Illinois, Chicago professor of health systems science Tonda Hughes, will provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date statistics from Hughes’s original study conducted ten years ago.
Hughes said this groundbreaking study is “one of the first longitudinal studies on lesbian health that looks at the changes over time and the various risk factors not just in drinking but other health concerns as well.” The study would also analyze how stressful experiences such as sexual abuse, sexual assault, and discrimination contribute to excessive drinking and psychological harm among lesbians.
According to Advocate.com, Hughes has been researching lesbian health issues for more than 20 years, and believes that the stereotypes of lesbians as alcoholics and heavy drinkers are largely based on outdated studies from the ’70s.
“There is a belief in the community that alcoholism is a widespread issue,” Hughes said. “Historically, there has been lots of interest in attention to drinking in the gay and lesbian community, with the estimates in the ’70s that a third of gay men and lesbians had serious alcohol problems. Those estimates were inflated and they were based on the research at the time, and people did not pick up on that when they reported on the findings.”
The five-year study will collect data from 384 adult lesbians in Chicago, all of whom have previously participated in studies by Hughes in 2000 and 2004. The women interviewed then reportedly had high rates of certain risk factors such as depression that may have led to a higher chance of drinking problems.
The new grant will also help Hughes’s research by allowing her to add 250 newly surveyed informants of 18- to 25-year-old African-American and Hispanic women. The study will also give light in developing effective strategies to combat alcohol abuse and focus on prevention and intervention.
“Our community had to rely on gay bars as a place to socialize,” Hughes said. “There weren’t a lot of safe places in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. But I think now, there is some over-reliance in gay bars to meet potential partners and friends.”