The historical telescoping literature on women offers several explanations for sex differences in progression from first drink to alcohol dependence. Randall et al. [20] hypothesized a biological basis for telescoping whereby women have higher blood alcohol levels due to sex differences in body fat/water proportion and first-pass metabolism. However, McGue [35] notes that differential prediction of likelihood of alcohol dependence versus speed of progression goes against biological explanations for the telescoping effect. Present findings do not support the hypothesis that telescoping is due to women’s earlier recognition of problems leading to earlier treatment seeking [21].
