Gender and regional differences in client characteristics among substance abuse treatment clients in the Europe

Abstract

Aims: To assesses the extent of the gender gap among the treated population of drug users across Europe.Methods: This analysis reports data on 363,170 clients from 4647 treatment units in 23 countries (22 European Union member states and Switzerland). Findings: Overall, males outnumber females by four, but the gender ratio varies not only by geographical region/country, but also by drug. In the majority of countries, the most common primary problem drug is opioids, and the overall gender ratio mirrors the gender ratio of opioid users. In some countries, a considerable proportion of treated drug users have cannabis and stimulants (cocaine/amphetamines/ methamphetamines) as primary problem drugs. Stimulants other than cocaine and other drugs have lower, while cannabis has a higher than overall male-to-female gender ratio. Conclusions: The very high male-to-female gender ratios may reveal differential access to treatment. Our findings highlight the need to assess access to treatment for women problem drug users and to make women-focussed programmes more available to increase the proportion of women in drug treatment programmes across Europe.

Cannabis psychosis, gender matters

“…The extent of the gender imbalance could be indicative of issues relating to access, where females find it hard to access such services as they perceive them to be male orientated and dominated (Montanari et al, 2011). It is also possible that men and women engage and are guided through the treatment pathway in different and distinct ways.…”

“…Although there has been an increasing number of presentations to drug treatment services for people who identify cannabis as their primary problem drug across Europe (Hamilton et al, 2014), there is only limited collection of basic demographic data such as gender in relation to problem drug use (Montanari et al, 2011). This failure to gather such basic information is potentially significant, as some contacts with drug treatment services may be related to mental health, requiring the specialist input of psychiatric services.…”

Relationships, Emotions, and Defenses Among Patients with Substance Use Disorders, Assessed with Karolinska Psychodynamic Profile: Possibilities to use Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy in Substance Abuse Treatment

“…Nine individuals, two female and seven male, age 25-44 years, participated. The gender distribution is representative for this clinical population (Montanari, Serafini, Maffli, Busch, & Kontogeorgiou, 2011). Four participants were in employment, two were students at secondary school level, two were unemployed, and one was on permanent sick leave.…”

Stimulant use among clients entering drug treatment in Europe

“…Furthermore, they are the centres for which the most complete data are reported to the EMCDDA (2010a). Thereby, they are considered to be the most representative of the drug user population entering substance treatment in Europe (Montanari et al, 2010) (Table I).…”