Gender differences in social and psychological problems of substance abusers: a comparison to nonsubstance abusers

This study examines gender differences in 16 social and psychological problems among substance abusers and nonsubstance abusers in a community population to determine whether such differences are simply a reflection of differences between men and women in the general population. Data were gathered from 119 respondents using the Addiction Severity Index. Loglinear analysis suggests that problems typically attributed to "being a female substance abuser" may be due to the effect of gender or substance abuse alone. Only two problems significantly distinguish female substance abusers from the other comparison groups: psychiatric hospitalizations and relatives with substance abuse. However, women in the overall sample were more troubled by family problems, had more parents with psychiatric problems, and received more outpatient psychiatric treatment. Problems associated with substance abuse, not gender, include divorce, problems controlling violence, and parents with substance abuse problems. These findings suggest that substance-abusing women experience a "double whammy" because they incur both the problems of women and the problems of substance abusers. Disaggregating gender and substance abuse effects has implications for treatment-matching and relapse prevention, specifically for suggesting strategies that address the special vulnerabilities of substance-abusing women.