CLAIMING CONTROL - THE RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC WOMAN AND LEISURE

Neither the relationship between drinking and leisure throughout an al coholic person's life course nor the influence of alcohol on a woman's leisure has been extensively systematically studied. The purpose of t his project was to explore and describe leisure for recovering alcohol ic women who were progressing to long-term sobriety. The data from nin e in-depth interviews were analyzed within themes. How being female pl ayed into descriptions of leisure and the use and abuse of alcohol and the changes and modifications associated with claiming leisure over t he alcoholism life course. A grounded theory approach was used, result ing in two conclusions that helped to explain the leisure of women rec overing from alcoholism: (a) Social and psychological factors of being female and operational definitions of leisure are similar for recover ing alcoholic women as for women in the population in general and (b) women who experience recovery from alcoholism over the life course are engaged in a process of regaining control over their lives and subseq uently claiming the meanings of leisure.