Old Dominion University Receives $1 Million Grant To Study The Drinking Habits Of Lesbian Couples
jonathanturley
I am often reluctant to criticize the work of other academics but this one seemed a bit problematic. The Old Dominion University was awarded a $1 million grant by the National Institutes of Health to conduct a study of lesbian couples to see if stress makes them drink too much. Most people would say that stress drinking for any couple would seem well established in history without a million-dollar study.
We have an epidemic of heroin overdoses and a national mental health crisis. Yet, we are spending one million dollars for a study on whether stress drives some lesbians to drink.
The grant states that “Sexual minority women (i.e., women who self-identify as lesbian and bisexual) report more heavy drinking, more alcohol-related problems, and higher rates of alcohol use disorders as compared to heterosexual women.” The researchers note that “Despite this awareness, no studies have examined how relationship factors and partners’ alcohol use contribute to hazardous drinking among female sexual minority couples.”
