Psychopathology in substance abusing adolescents: gender comparisons

Abstract

Few studies have explored gender comparisons of psychopathology in substance abusing adolescents. To expand the knowledge base in this area, we assessed 59 adolescents (34 males and 25 females) presenting for inpatient treatment in a university‐based adolescent dual diagnosis program. Subjects were interviewed for psychiatric disorders using the revised Child Schedule for Affective Disorder and Schizophrenia (K‐SADS). The Structured Clinical Interview DSM‐IV (SCID‐R) was used to diagnose substance use disorders. The subjects were primarily Caucasian, ages 12–18. Ninety‐four per cent of the sample used tobacco and females were more likely than males to meet criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence. Disruptive disorders were the most prevalent psychiatric diagnoses in both males and females. However, anxiety disorders were more prevalent in females, and social phobia was the most common anxiety disorder. Both groups had experienced physical and/or sexual abuse; however, there was a trend towards higher incidences of females than males having experienced sexual abuse. Significantly more females had a history of suicide attempt. Taken together, these data suggest that there are some gender differences in co‐morbidity that may have treatment implications for this population. Further exploration of gender comparisons of psychopathology in adolescent substance abusers is warranted.

• Adolescents
• co‐morbidity
• gender

Acknowledgements

This paper was supported in part by grant AA00247 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The authors wish to thank Ms Rachel W. Friendly and Ms Sherrie Nesbitt for their assistance with the preparation of this manuscript.