Polly Haight Frawley, Crossroads for Women's  Chief of Operations, wrote an article for the Portland Press Herald's Maine Voices section. It was published on August 15th and addressed the differences between men and women when it comes to addiction. The piece was written in response to a quote in a past article about the Diane Schuler tragedy. Please take time to read the full article below and share with friends and colleagues!

Women's problems with addiction different from men's NORTH YARMOUTH - Diane Schuler drove the wrong way on a New York highway, killing herself and seven others. It is reported that she was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, which came as a surprise to her family and friends.

An Associated Press article in the Aug. 8 Press Herald quotes Dr. Robert Smith, an addiction psychiatrist and professor at Brown University, stating it is "more common among women (than it is among men) to hide their drinking because of the social stigma of it."

Women who are addicted harbor tremendous guilt and shame regarding their drinking or drugging and the possible consequences for themselves and their families that go along with the behavior.

As a result, they have highly developed coping skills and are able to hide their addiction even from their closest friends and family members.

In fact, studies have shown that children typically learn of their father's addiction at approximately 12.6 years of age, but don't learn about their mother's until 18.3 years of age.

Even in the most modern families, women are more likely than men to be responsible for the children, make the family dinner each evening, and do the family shopping and laundry. Both the stigma of being addicted, especially an addicted mother, and the need to meet family responsibilities, are significant roadblocks for women seeking treatment for their...Read the full article

After publishing the Maine Voices article from Crossroads for Women, editor and publisher Richard L. Connor wrote a column about the need for better understanding of women and drinking to prevent further tragedies behind the wheel. Read the column from the August 24th Monday Opinion.