Women under the Influence

by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, Joseph A. Califano Jr. (Foreword by)

Overview

This comprehensive and accessible book documents the physical and emotional effects of substance abuse in girls and women, explores the role of the advertising and entertainment industries in popularizing various substances of abuse, and discusses the way America responds to this enormous health problem.

Covering a broad range of substances—nicotine, alcohol, prescription and illicit drugs—the book addresses the unique reasons that girls and women smoke and abuse alcohol and drugs. It provides the most current information about the use of prescription and club drugs, key warning signs of addiction, and options for prevention and treatment. The book includes historical anecdotes and testimonies from recovering women.

Incorporating more than a decade of extensive research, Women under the Influence will help women, health care professionals, educators, and policy makers understand the scope of substance abuse in girls and women, the urgency of responding to the problem, the key points of intervention, and potential roads to recovery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801882289
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	02/01/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University was founded in 1992 by Joseph A. Califano, Jr., who served as President Lyndon Johnson's chief assistant for domestic affairs and as Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Jimmy Carter. CASA is a research and policy organization dedicated to combating substance abuse, bringing together the professional disciplines necessary to study and combat abuse of all substances—alcohol, tobacco, and illegal, prescription, and performance-enhancing drugs—in all sectors of society.

Read an Excerpt

"You know you have a problem long before you seek a solution to it. You think you can master it yourself, you think you can stave it off with either abstinence or strong will or, quite frankly, pacts with God . . . I was incredibly secretive, very proud, very much in denial . . . I didn't really understand what it was going to take to beat my addiction . . . I kept thinking I could strong arm it, abstain for a period of time."—Jamie Lee Curtis, actress and recovering substance abuser

Table of Contents

Foreword
1. Pathways to Substance Abuse among Girls and Women
2. Women and Smoking
3. Women and Alcohol
4. Women and Prescription and Illicit Drugs
5. Pregnancy and Substance Abuse
6. Getting Over the influence
7. prevention and Policy Opportunities across the Life Spam
Acknowledgments
Appendix: Resources
Notes
Index

What People are Saying About This

Betty Ford

This book reveals the unique characteristics of girls and women with drug and alcohol problems. It will greatly enhance the ability of doctors and counselors to help women of all ages and walks of life.

Louis W. Sullivan

This book should be in every health professional's office in America. It will help doctors, nurses, dentists, psychologists and substance abuse treatment providers better serve women with substance abuse problems.

Nancy Reagan

Women under the Influence belongs in the personal library of every parent with a daughter, everyone with a sister, mother or grandmother and every husband. With this book, women will better understand the substance abuse risks they face at each stage of life.

From the Publisher

Women under the Influence belongs in the personal library of every parent with a daughter, everyone with a sister, mother or grandmother and every husband. With this book, women will better understand the substance abuse risks they face at each stage of life.
—Nancy Reagan, Former First Lady

This book reveals the unique characteristics of girls and women with drug and alcohol problems. It will greatly enhance the ability of doctors and counselors to help women of all ages and walks of life.
—Betty Ford, Former First Lady

This book should be in every health professional's office in America. It will help doctors, nurses, dentists, psychologists and substance abuse treatment providers better serve women with substance abuse problems.
—Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., Former Secretary, Health and Human Services

Editorial Reviews

An excellent starting point for patrons researching the topic, as it examines substance abuse in women of all ages.
—Library Journal

The first of its kind and the product of 10 years of research.
—Southern Review of Books

Thoughtfully examines the myriad factors that enhance vulnerability to substance-abuse problems across the life span and the unique challenges of life-stage transitions in women.
—New England Journal of Medicine

This readable and useful treatise wil be a valuable resource on substance abuse for readers in a variety of disciplines.
—Choice

From the Publisher

"This readable and useful treatise wil be a valuable resource on substance abuse for readers in a variety of disciplines."

Choice

Thoughtfully examines the myriad factors that enhance vulnerability to substance-abuse problems across the life span and the unique challenges of life-stage transitions in women.

New England Journal of Medicine

The first of its kind and the product of 10 years of research.

Southern Review of Books