Naiserityistä päihdehoitoa – etnografinen tutkimus päihdehoitolaitoksen naistenyhteisöstä
Abstract
Alcohol and drug use among women in Finland is currently increasing,
meaning there has also been a subsequent increase in women’s drug and
alcohol-related problems. Women with substance-abuse issues are a diverse
group and they demonstrate unique psychosocial characteristics. On the whole,
women’s substance abuse has an immense impact on their lives, including on
their health and social relationships. Furthermore, social stigma, labeling and
guilt serve as significant barriers to women receiving treatment.
However, until recently only scant attention has been paid to genderspecific
substance abuse and treatment issues. More traditional treatment
programs designed primarily for men may not be appropriate for many women.
Therefore, substance abuse treatment specifically designed for women has been
proposed as a way to meet women’s distinctive needs and reduce the barriers
they experience to receiving help and remaining in treatment.
This dissertation in social work focuses on women’s substance abuse
treatment from a female-specific perspective. The data has been collected
through ethnographic fieldwork in a residential addiction treatment unit based
on the therapeutic community approach. The key components of female specific
intervention include (1) gender perspective; (2) issues of body and
traumatization; (3) identity, emotions and mental health; (4) social relations; (5)
women´s addiction problems and the question of personal change. I analyze the
occurrence of these elements in my empirical data in the context of a
therapeutic community for women. The community is defined here both as a
method of conscious, personal change and as the structure of the treatment.
The results indicate that women’s treatment issues are comprehensive and
that interventions targeted at women are clearly justified. Due to the complex
nature of women’s substance abuse problems, the question of continuity of care
after residential treatment is critical. Relational issues are important for women
and therefore the question of how to reintegrate into society is crucial for
women’s recovery on the whole.
Keywords: women, substance abuse, female specific intervention, community,
ethnography
Main Author
Format
Theses
Doctoral thesis
Published
2019
Series
ISBN
978-951-39-7839-6
Publisher
Jyväskylän yliopisto
The permanent address of the publication
https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-7839-6Use this for linking
ISSN
2489-9003
Language
Finnish
Published in
JYU Dissertations
Copyright© The Author & University of Jyväskylä