Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs

While gender differences in substance use/problems have been found to be smaller in more gender-equal countries such as Sweden, gender-specific norms still prevail, and women's (mis)use continues to be more condemned than men's. This article analyses and discusses similarities and differences between the sexes in alcohol and drug treatment in terms of men's and women's treatment experiences, consumption/problems, social situation, and life-domain problems.

1865 respondents were interviewed (structured interview) at the beginning of a new treatment episode in 2000–2002 in Stockholm County (sample representative of those starting a new treatment episode for alcohol or drug problems in Stockholm County). Responses are cross-tabulated by sex and multivariate logistic regression is used to predict whether men or women have more severe problems in various life domains of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI composite scores).

Bivariate analyses showed that women and men differ significantly in their treatment experiences. Women are more likely to have contact with mental health services, whereas men tend to deal more with the criminal justice system. The sexes do not differ in alcohol and drug problem severity, but women are more likely to have problems with pharmaceuticals. In contrast to the hypothesis, it turned out that men, not women, are more marginalised as concerns housing, income, family situation, lack of friends. Women report more problems related to family, social life and mental/physical health, while men report higher criminality and financial problems.

There are no gender differences among the clients in the treatment system when it comes to substance problem severity but differences occur concerning the clients’ social situation and different life-domain problems. As men are more socially exposed a focus on women may obscure problems among men.

The aim of this article is to present a first overview of pregnant substance abusers in compulsory care in Sweden. The current legislation does not allow for compulsory care on the grounds of pregnancy, i.e. out of consideration for the foetus. Nonetheless, a number of the women placed in compulsory care every year also “happen to be” pregnant.

Through client screening interviews, which include a question about whether the client is pregnant, and data from the client administrative system of the National Board of Institutional Care, a total of 81 unique pregnancies (79 unique women) were identified between 2001 and 2008. The average age at admission was 28 years and the women for whom such data was available were on average 5.9 months pregnant.

Compared to other clients in compulsory care the situation of the pregnant clients was relatively favourable in some domains, such as living conditions, and physical and psychological status. Their drug profile mostly resembled that of the youngest client group in compulsory care, i.e. dominated by heroine and amphetamine. There were, however, relatively speaking fewer pregnant women who never have injected drugs and it was more common among the pregnant clients to have lost custody of a child or to have a child placed in foster care.

More empirical studies are necessary in order to increase our knowledge about this selected group of clients, both follow-ups on the women and their children as well as in-depth studies of how these women are “processed” in the social and legal systems.

This article focuses on the shortcomings of experimental outcome evaluations.

The study uses two studies of the alcohol prevention program Prime for Life (PFL) to illustrate problems associated with a ‘one dimensional’ goal focus and how implementation may affect the efficiency of an intervention.

As evidence based practice often fails to acknowledge the importance of context and implementation quality in its quest to find ‘what works’, it is argued in the article that a wider perspective on efficiency is needed in evaluations of alcohol prevention.

To be able to find out what works and during what circumstances, evaluators need to look for a wider set of traits that constitute effective interventions.

The article focuses on what kind of drinking-related subject positions have appeared as acceptable and desirable in women's magazine advertisements over the past few decades, how those positions have changed and shifted as we move closer to the present day, and how these changes reflect the shifting borderline between the private and public domain.

The material consists of alcohol-related advertisements published in Swedish women's magazines from the 1960s to the 2000s (n=1,079).

The advertisements are approached and analysed as performances in which gender is made visible “here and now” by placing women in particular subject positions. The analysis draws attention to how the subject positions appearing in the advertisements are repeatedly attached to pleasure (desire), the physical body (sex) and social roles, norms and lifestyles (gender).

The analysis reveals both continuity and variability in alcohol-related advertising in Swedish women's magazines. In the 1960s alcohol-related advertisements repeatedly positioned women in the private domain to represent the traditional norms of the “housewife contract”, or outside the home to represent the new gender expectations of the “equality contract”. As we draw closer to the present day, the nature of these subject positions begins to change.

Women's equality, freedom and independence do not increase linearly, nor does the home or the private domain become gender neutral. On the contrary, it seems that the traditional gender system is persistently reproduced. A comparison of the Swedish and Finnish material reveals some intriguing similarities and differences in women's subject positions.