Women endorsed more risk factors for AD than men. Although a large percentage of men with AD reported a parental history of alcohol use disorders and vulnerable family environments, these risk factors were more common among women with AD. In addition to endorsing a family history of alcohol use disorders, women were substantially more likely to be married to a spouse with an alcohol use disorder, in line with data from previous studies (Roberts and Leonard, 1997). In women, family and marital problems strongly affect the risk of both developing and relapsing from AD (Connors et al., 1998). Addressing co-occurring interpersonal problems may be an especially important treatment need of women with AD. Coping skills training and 12-step facilitation may specifically benefit women married to individuals with an alcohol use disorder by decreasing the overall rates of their spouse’s drinking (Rychtarik and McGillicuddy, 2005). Last, although recent studies have indicated that the same amount of average alcohol consumption is related to a higher risk of liver cirrhosis in women than men (Rehm et al., 2010), we found that men and women with AD had no significant difference in rates of liver disease/cirrhosis after controlling for the total number of drinks.
