Gender Differences in Dependence Symptoms and Psychiatric Severity in Adolescents with Substance Use Disorders

ABSTRACT

One hundred adolescent inpatients (42% female) seeking treatment for a substance use disorder (SUD) were compared by gender on several substance use and psychiatric variables. Adolescents were assessed with the Comprehensive Addiction Severity Index (C-ASI) and other standardized assessment instruments. Results showed that females were more likely than males to endorse dependence symptoms and report experiencing dependence symptoms at a younger age. Females also progressed faster to regular use of drugs than males. Females were more likely than males to begin substance use with cigarettes, whereas males typically began substance use with alcohol. Suicidality was more common in females, but groups did not differ on the prevalence of depression diagnoses or on previous psychiatric treatment history. Future studies are needed to investigate possible physiologic/psychologic bases of the greater susceptibility for females to report substance dependence symptoms.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescent
• substance
• gender
• dependence
• drug