Factors Affecting Substance Abuse Treatment Completion for Women

Abstract

Substance abuse by women is considered an individual pathology, and the larger social processes of recovery are seldom explored. This research study examined social factors that influenced completion of an outpatient women-centered substance abuse treatment program. The treatment records of a group of 15 women who completed the program were compared with a group who did not complete the program. More completers had previous life successes in the areas of education, job skills, and employment history. Completers also had fewer children, less involvement with child protective services, and lower levels of chaos, a construct that included the presence of two of any of the following in women's lives: child protective services, homelessness, psychiatric diagnosis, or domestic violence. Completion of substance abuse treatment seems more likely for women with personal and social resources. If programs are to be successful, adequate funding must be provided for both assessment and support of the social problems encountered by the most vulnerable women.

Substance abuse treatment entry, retention, and outcome in women: A review of the literature

“…While mixed-gender samples allow for examination of gender-specific predictors of retention, a number of studies have examined predictors of retention among women-only samples (Brown et al, 1995;Davis, 1994;Hughes et al, 1995;Huselid et al, 1999;Haller and Miles, 2004;Kelly et al, 2001;Knight et al, 1999;Loneck et al, 1997;Stahler et al, 2005;Szuster et al, 1996). Research using women-only samples has found associations between certain patient characteristics (e.g., psychological function, personal stability and social support, levels of anger, treatment beliefs, and referral source) and rates of retention and completion.…”

“…Research using women-only samples has found associations between certain patient characteristics (e.g., psychological function, personal stability and social support, levels of anger, treatment beliefs, and referral source) and rates of retention and completion. Kelly et al (2001) reported that having fewer children, higher levels of personal stability, less involvement with child protective services, and fewer family problems predicted treatment completion among 34 women in a women-centered program. Brown et al (1995) found that among 203 women in residential treatment, those with a high level of burden (measured by the number and severity of psychological, cognitive, health, and substance abuse problems) had lower retention rates than those with lower levels of burden.…”

Individual and Program Predictors of Attrition from VA Substance Use Treatment

“…[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] The findings for gender, substance use severity, current legal status, and psychiatric status have been mixed, with no clear indications of commonality of influence across classes of substances used or treatment modality. 1,7,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] The influence of psychiatric status on attrition is especially complex, with findings varying within and across diagnostic categories, time of measurement (lifetime vs current disorder), and gender.…”

Does integrated trauma‐informed substance abuse treatment increase treatment retention?

“…In contrast to studies~Broome, Flynn, & Simpson, 1999;Haller, Miles, & Dawson, 2002;Kelly et al, 2001! that reported that individuals with more complex psychiatric and addiction presentations have shorter lengths of stay in treatment, we found no association between baseline severity of symptoms and treatment retention.…”