There is a belief among some addiction professionals that women are harder to treat than men. Do statistics bear this out?  If not, why does this view persist?

In this Rehabilitation Guide article we will discuss drug and alcohol treatment specifically as it relates to women.

Women are More Vulnerable to be Harmed by Alcohol and Drugs

More men than women drink and develop alcoholism – though the incidence of alcoholism among women is rising at an alarming rate. While the numbers are still lower, statistics show that alcohol abuse causes more harm to women than it does to men. The same is true with drug addiction. Women are more susceptible to chronic diseases related to drug and alcohol abuse such as liver disease, brain damage, hypertension, stroke and even some types of cancer. Women who drink get into car accidents at a higher average than men who drink.

The fact that women suffer more, on average, has contributed to the idea that women alcoholics and addicts have a more chronic, hard to treat disease.

By Percentage, Women Get Treated Less Often Than Men

The reasons for this are unclear, but the statistics don’t lie. On average, men are treated more often than women. It could be that alcohol abuse in particular has less of a stigma for men. Heavy drinking certainly is more accepted in men than in women, partly because women are more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol, meaning that women who drink heavily often appear more under the influence than men. This fact also increases the perception that women who drink are harder to effectively treat than men who drink.

Women are Just as Likely to Be Successful in Fighting Addiction

Statistics show the numbers for men and women to be about equal in overcoming drug or alcohol abuse. This is due in part to the development of treatment programs designed specifically with the needs of women at the center. It could be said, in contrast, that many traditional treatment programs were developed to treat the needs of men since men have historically made up a much higher percentage of those seeking treatment.

The bottom line is that alcoholism and drug addiction have different dynamics for women than they do for men. Effective treatment involves understanding those dynamics and building a program to address them.