Lesbian use and abuse of alcohol: results of The Boston Lesbian Health Project II.

The Boston Lesbian Health Project II, a national survey of 1139 self-identified lesbian women, found higher rates of drinking alcohol, heavy alcohol intake and self reported alcoholism than in national studies of women in general. Several known risk factors for alcoholism were higher in lesbians who self defined as alcoholic in this sample: family history of alcoholism and drug abuse, rape and childhood sexual abuse and report of having made a suicide attempt. These findings are consistent with other studies that found a high rate of drinking alcohol, alcohol abuse and problem drinking among lesbians. The reasons for these findings are not clear and further research is needed to continue to explore the reasons.