Substance abuse treatment for women: Changes in the settings where women received treatment and types of services provided, 1987–1998

Abstract

Changes in social policies during the last 2 decades have had major implications for the provision of substance abuse treatment services to women. The goal of this analysis was to examine (a) changes in the proportion of women clients served within different types of treatment facilities and (b) the services provided in these facilities. Data were analyzed from national surveys of treatment providers for the period of 1987 to 1998. Overall, there were gradual increases in the proportion of women clients across treatment facilities and greater concentrations of women in more intensive treatment modalities. The provision of childcare increased over time, particularly in programs with only women clients. Treatment facilities in which there were higher proportions of women generally had higher rates of providing services related to pregnancy, parenting, and domestic violence. These findings can be used to assess the adequacy of service delivery to women in substance abuse treatment.

Does gender-specific substance abuse treatment for women promote continuity of care?

“…Relative to traditional mixed-gender programs, evidence exists that women in women-only programs have better retention (Anglin, Hser, & Grella, 1997;Washington State DSHS, 1999) and better treatment outcomes (Orwin, Francisco, & Bernichon, 2001;Orwin, Kissin, & Dugan, 2003). The vast majority of women, however, are served in mixed-gender programs (Grella & Greenwell, 2004). The growth of women-only programs in the early to mid 1990s-in part triggered by the bcrack babiesQ scare of the mid 1980s-peaked and was actually in decline by the end of the century (Grella, 1999;Grella & Greenwell, 2004).…”

Gender Similarities and Differences in the Treatment, Relapse, and Recovery Cycle

“…This is particularly evident in the 12-fold greater likelihood of moving from using to treatment for men who were mandated to treatment compared with women. Hence, although women have increasingly entered prison for drug-related crimes in the past 20 years (Mauer, Potler, and Wolf 1999) and there has been an increase in treatment provided to women in correctional settings (Grella and Greenwell 2004), the criminal justice system continues to exert a stronger influence on treatment participation for men.…”

Interventions targeting substance abuse among women survivors of intimate partner abuse: A meta-analysis

“…It was apparent that although women differ from men on all of these aspects, pregnancy and parenting were the two specific areas for women requiring a movement in substance abuse treatment toward specialized services for them. Grella and Greenwell (2004) point out that "concerns about the public health and economic consequences of maternal substance abuse…" during the 1980s led to funding and policy initiatives led by Congress and with increased availability of treatment models and services sponsored by SAMHSA and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (p. 368).…”