A systematic review of substance use treatments for sexual minority women

Abstract

Sexual minority women (SMW) engage in higher rates of substance use treatment than their heterosexual counterparts, yet little is known about how treatment can target the unique needs of SMW. This systematic review identified twelve articles that focused on testing or developing substance use interventions for SMW. Adaptations to meet the needs of SMW focused on sexual orientation, gender, minority stress, and mental health. Only four interventions were empirically evaluated. Behavioral interventions had the greatest empirical support, and results were mixed for the inclusion of partners in treatment. Future research should empirically evaluate proposed identity-focused substance use interventions for SMW.

Keywords:

• Cultural adaptation
• minority stress
• sexual minority women
• substance use treatment

Acknowledgements

The author has no acknowledgements.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).