Substance use and abuse in women

Abstract

Over the last century, in most Western countries, women have made many great strides in social equality, including winning the right to vote and to equal wages. This chapter describes how and why women may also be gaining ground on their male counterparts in the consumption of alcohol and illicit substances. While women have “come a long way” (a phrase employed in a cigarette advertising campaign in the 1980s) in their drug use, researchers and treatment providers have been slow to identify women's treatment needs, and to develop newer services sensitive to the needs of women with substance abuse or dependence. Thus, we also describe the characteristics of women-sensitive services and recomm..