Drug Addiction: Men vs. Women

Have you ever thought about whether being a male or female has any effect of the probability of becoming addicted to drugs, alcohol, gambling, or cigarettes? According to the National Institution on Drug Abuse there is a difference between male and female exposure and likelihood of addiction. NIDA-supported research has shown that gender differences play a role from the very earliest opportunity to use drugs, that women and men tend to abuse different drugs, that the effects of drugs are different for women and men, and that some approaches to treatment are more successful for women than they are for men. At first this may seem a bit strange, but studies have shown significant differences between genders and many specific kinds of drugs and the likelihood of becoming addicted to them.

Men are more likely than women to have opportunities to use drugs, but men and women given an opportunity to use drugs for the first time are equally likely to do so and to progress from initial use to addiction. However, women and men appear to differ in their vulnerability to some drugs. Both are equally likely to become addicted to or dependent on cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, tobacco, and inhalants. Women are more likely than men to become addicted to or dependent on sedatives and drugs designed to treat anxiety or sleeplessness, and less likely than men to abuse alcohol and marijuana. There are also differences between men and women who seek treatment for drug abuse. Women in treatment programs are less likely than men to have graduated from high school and to be employed and are more likely than men to have other health problems, to have sought previous drug treatment, to have attempted suicide, and to have suffered sexual abuse or other physical abuse. At the heart of this gender difference seems to be a biological difference in their response to drugs and alcohol.

Whether you’re male or female the biological reason for addiction isn’t important, it’s getting the help to recover that’s important –and Seabrook offers this help. Seabrook is an internationally recognized private and exclusive inpatient drug rehabilitation and alcoholism detoxification treatment center who has achieved an elite CARF accreditation status, ensuring that our rehab patients receive the highest quality treatment. Seabrook has rehab facilities located in New Jersey (NJ) and Pennsylvania (PA) and also an outpatient office in New York (NY). Contact Seabrook today at 1.(888) 223-0298 to find out ways for you to beat your addiction!