Gender Differences & Substance Abuse Treatment

Despite the assertions of various groups that men and women are equal, the fact remains that they are different. This is true of skills, abilities and approaches to topics, and even in regard to treatment for substance abuse. What works for a man may not work for a woman because she will approach treatment differently and with have different reasons for entering treatment, success with differing methods, and different reasons for possibly dropping out of a program. Substance abuse counselors need to take the gender of their patient into consideration in developing their treatment program.

Barriers to Treatment

• Men and women face different barriers in getting the treatment they need for their alcoholism or drug addiction. Women statistically do not do as well in treatment programs as men, in large part due to barriers including financial difficulties, different physiological complications with drug use, and greater social isolation. In terms of physiological differences, it has been found that cocaine, for example, has a greater cardiovascular effect on women than on men, although women seem to sustain less brain damage from the drug than men. Social isolation comes into play because a woman suffers greater stigma when she has issues with substance abuse; society treats her as a poor mother and partner for deviating from the "good woman" role. This also leads to a sense of shame and guilt that can cause women to withdraw from society and prevent them from seeking help. But perhaps the greatest obstacle for women is access to childcare to enable them to pursue treatment. Women are also more likely to be partnered to another addict, which denies them the support of a partner to encourage them to seek treatment--support that is often available to many men.

Method of Treatment

• Women tend to be less successful in substance abuse programs because these programs are typically geared toward men, who comprise a larger share of those in need. One of the modes of treatment that may work well for men, but fails women, is the group discussion times. These groups tend to be skewed heavily toward men, often having only a couple women to a group of ten or more men. Women can find it difficult to engage in discussion with a group of men when they are a very definite minority. Also, many women who have issues with substance abuse have been abused, raped or otherwise damaged in the past, and having to relate their history to men under such circumstances would be counterproductive to emotional healing and dealing with their substance problems. Men are often more comfortable sharing in a group than one-on-one because they can see others doing likewise. This particular approach tends to be only beneficial to males or to women when it's a women-only environment.

Retention Rate Study

• A study was conducted concerning the retention rates of men and women in outpatient substance abuse programs by Oakland, California, researchers associated with Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program. They tracked 599 men and 317 women who entered the program during a two-year period to determine what factors affected their continuation of the treatment. They found that men and women had very different circumstances that would prompt them to complete the treatment program.

  Men were most likely to follow through with their treatment program if they were striving for abstinence, over 40 years of age, or if the treatment was suggested by an employer instead of a family member. Women, on the other hand, where more likely to continue their program if they were unemployed, married, a member of any ethnic group other than black, or making a minimum of $20,000 per year. While family and culture seemed to be a factor for women, that did not seem to be the case for men. The significance here is that if counselors recognize factors for dropping out of a program, they can tailor their programs to retain those needing treatment and help them continue their road to recovery.