GENDER DIFFERENCES IN CRACK USERS WHO ARE RESEARCH VOLUNTEERS

This study compared gender differences in a non-treatment sample of cr ack cocaine users interested in participating in a research study on a ddiction. Data was collected from initial telephone screening intervie ws of women and men responding to cocaine research recruitment in a mi dwest urban environment over a two-year period. Female respondents (n = 88) were age- and race-matched with men interviewed over the same ti me period, for a total sample size of 176. Mean age of the female samp le was 33 years and the majority were African-American. Basic demograp hics were similar for both genders. Respondents had first used cocaine at 24 years of age and currently smoked 2 g cocaine/day for 5 days/we ek, a rate higher than that found in many treatment samples. Women wer e found to have significantly higher rates of cigarette smoking, heada ches and history of suicidal ideation, and significantly more women re ported emergency room visits following crack use than did men. Equal n umbers of men and women had been convicted of a crime (56%), with sign ificantly fewer women reporting having committed a crime involving vio lence. Nearly all respondents (94%) reported that crack use had negati ve effects on their value systems, and significant numbers of both gen ders reported involvement with bartering crack and sex. Two-thirds of women able to become pregnant used no method of birth control and the use of barrier methods was infrequent. Forty-two percent admitted to u sing cocaine during pregnancy. These data indicate that while patterns of crack use per se do not differ between women and men in this sampl e, community outreach programs may benefit from focusing on other asso ciated behaviors that do show differences between genders.