Sex Differences in Help‐seeking for Alcohol Problems–1. The Barriers to Help‐seeking

Summary Twenty‐five men and 25 women referred to an alcohol clinic were interviewed in depth to obtain information about their drinking careers and help‐seeking behaviour. This paper describes patients' perceptions of the ‘barriers’ to treatment entry and considers differences between the sexes. Women were significantly less likely than men to feel that alcohol was their main problem and the reasons for this are explored. Other barriers to treatment–difficulty in asking for help, reluctance to be ‘labelled’ as an ‘alcoholic’ or as a psychiatric patient, and problems of access to the service–also showed differences between men and women. It is suggested that, for women in particular, improvement of the response to alcohol problems at primary care level may go some way towards reducing the ‘barriers’ to treatment entry.