Gender Differences Among African-American Substance Abusers

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if there were gender differences in 80 medical records (37 African-American men and 43 African-American women) from one drug treatment facility located in a midwest ern city. Using independent t-tests and chi square analyses to determine group differences, there were significant gender differences relative to childhood sexual abuse experiences and maternal alcohol and other drug abuse; however, there were no gender differences relative to most drug-related behaviors and to paternal alcohol or other drug abuse. Implications for further study are discussed.

Keywords:

• African-American
• alcohol
• childhood sexual abuse
• drugs
• gender differences