Gender-Specific Treatment

Statistically, people who identify as women are more likely to use addictive substances to cope with trauma. Men-identifying people are more likely to use them (and become addicted) because of social pressures or to boost their confidence.

Women are more likely than men to have a dual diagnosis of a mental health issue that interacts and coincides with their addiction, such as anxiety. They are also more likely to develop any addiction if they have been physically or sexually abused.

Men are more likely to develop an alcohol addiction or use illicit drugs. Women are more likely to develop addictions to prescription drugs. Men are also more likely to consume multiple substances at once.

Due to having a (typically) smaller body size, women are affected by addictive substances in smaller amounts. This can lead to women progressing to the later stages of addiction sooner than men after trying the substance for the first time. Women can also experience the effects of addictive substances differently than men depending on where they are in their menstrual cycle.

How and why a person will relapse into addictive patterns depends most on the individual’s triggers and life stresses. However, statistics show that women are more likely to relapse when around a romantic partner, and men are more likely to relapse when alone.

People who are the children of addicted individuals are much more likely to become addicted themselves. However, the correlation is even more pronounced when the addicted parent is of the same gender.

If someone has an addicted parent who belongs to the same gender, that person may unconsciously emulate that parent in their addictive parent. This is especially true if they look to that parent for approval or guidance on gender identity, such as young men learning “how to be a real man” from their fathers.