Addiction Recovery Basics

A three-year study on women and young girls (ages 8-22) from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University revealed that girls and young women use substances for reasons different than boys and young men. The study also found that the signals and situations of higher risk are different and that girls and young women are more vulnerable to abuse and drug and alcohol addiction:

women and girls get hooked faster and suffer the consequences sooner than boys and young men.

A SAMHSA report on females admitted to treatment with a dual diagnosis of a substance abuse problem and a psychiatric disorder found that almost half (46%) had alcohol as a primary substance of abuse. The report also found that dually diagnosed female admissions were more likely to have had prior treatments than non-dually diagnosed female admissions (72% vs. 60%).A Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) report found that about half of women offenders confined in State prisons had been using alcohol, drugs, or both at the time of the offense for which they had been incarcerated. About 6 in 10 women in State prison described themselves as using drugs in the month before the offense and 5 in 10 described themselves as a daily user of drugs. Nearly 1 in 3 women serving time in State prisons said they had committed the offense which brought them to prison in order to obtain money to support their need for drugs.

Here are some selected resources of women and addiction:

Alcohol Treatment Centers For Women Offer Hope For Women Suffering …

Women, Addiction and Recovery Conference September 15-17

Cover Story: New Life for Women with Addiction Problems

A Recovering Woman’s Guide to Coping With Childhood Abuse Issues

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