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Drug treatment: explaining the gender paradox
R Fiorentine1, M D Anglin, V Gil-Rivas
1UCLA Drug Abuse Research Center, Neuropsychiatric Institute 90024, USA.
Substance Use & Misuse
|May 1, 1997
Summary
Women in drug treatment engage more in group counseling, reducing relapse risk despite higher risk factors. This engagement may stem from gender norms, not treatment specifics. Further research is recommended.
Area of Science:
- Addiction Medicine
- Psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- Women exhibit more risk factors for drug use relapse than men.
- Paradoxically, women do not relapse more frequently and may relapse less often.
- Understanding gender differences in substance use disorder treatment is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the gender paradox in drug use relapse rates.
- To examine factors contributing to women's lower relapse rates despite higher risk factors.
- To test hypotheses related to drug severity, social support, and treatment engagement.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 330 individuals (women and men) in outpatient drug treatment.
- Evaluation of the Los Angeles Target Cities Project.
- Analysis of relapse rates, risk factors, and treatment engagement patterns.
Main Results:
- Findings did not support drug severity or social support hypotheses.
- Partial support found for the treatment engagement hypothesis.
- Women's higher engagement in group counseling correlated with lower relapse rates.
- Reasons for increased group counseling participation in women linked to gender norms, not custody or treatment enhancements.
Conclusions:
- Women's higher participation in group counseling, potentially driven by gender norms around help-seeking and independence, mitigates relapse risk.
- Treatment engagement, particularly in group settings, appears key to reducing relapse for women in substance use disorder treatment.
- Implications for treatment and policy highlight the importance of understanding and leveraging gender-specific engagement patterns.