Sex-Role Conflict in Female Alcoholics:

Abstract

Researchers have suggested that alcohol abuse by women may be linked to problems of feminine identity. The subsequent focus of inquiry has been on disturbed feminine identification in female alcoholics and their deviation from sex-role norms. For the most part, the research has narrowly attended to the examination of conflict between levels of sex-role identification, conscious and unconscious, within the woman. The prevailing assumption is that pencil and paper tests can determine the level of masculinity and femininity in our changing social climate and the presence of role conflict. The findings have been conflicting and unclear. This paper critically examines the methodology of five major studies and provides direction for future research.