Gender Differences Among In- and Out-of-Treatment Opioid-Addicted Individuals.

Kelly SM, Schwartz RP, O'Grady KE, Mitchell SG, Reisinger HS, Peterson JA, Agar MH, Brown BS. Gender Differences Among In- and Out-of-Treatment Opioid-Addicted Individuals. The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse. 2009 Jan 1; 35(1):38-42.

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Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: Gender differences were explored among 355 in- and out-of-treatment opioid-addicted adults in Baltimore. METHODS: Addiction Severity Index and other variables were compared among: 1) in-treatment women vs. out-of-treatment women; 2) out-of-treatment: women vs. men; and, 3) in-treatment: women vs. men. RESULTS: Analysis indicated that in-treatment and out-of-treatment women worked less and used more cocaine than their male counterparts (ps < .01). Moreover, out-of-treatment women used heroin and cocaine more often, spent more money on drugs, earned more illegal income, and had fewer treatments than in-treatment women (ps < or = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate greater severity of drug and employment problems of opioid-addicted women and underline the need for gender-specific drug-treatment services.