Gender, Mental Health, and Treatment Motivation in a Drug Court Setting

Abstract

The current study examined differences in motivation for drug treatment in a sample of 500 (327 males and 173 females) drug court participants. It was hypothesized that females would report higher levels of treatment motivation, as indicated by measures of problem recognition and desire for help, and that this difference would be moderated by mental health. After controlling for selected factors related to treatment motivation, females were found to have higher levels of problem recognition and desire for help. A signi ficant gender x mental health interaction was also found, suggesting that females with more mental health problems have the highest levels of desire for help.

Keywords:

• drug court
• gender
• mental health
• treatment motivation