Gender differences in drug treatment careers among clients in the NationalDrug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study

Gender differences in the factors associated with having a history of drug treatment were examined among 7,652 individuals admitted into the Drug Abus e Treatment Outcome Study DATOS), a national multisite prospective study. B ivariate relationships were examined between a history of prior drug treatm ent and variables measuring demographic and background characteristics, add iction career, treatment career parameters, family and social relationships , criminal justice involvement, and mental health status. Stepwise discrimi nant function analyses DFAs) were conducted separately for men and women to determine both the common and unique characteristics associated with a his tory of prior drug treatment. More severe drug use history and criminal beh avior were related to prior treatment history for both men and women. Prior drug treatment among men was associated with factors related to family opp osition to drug use and support for treatment whereas for women prior drug treatment was associated with antisocial personality disorder and self-init iation into treatment. Moreover, treatment initiation among men appears to be facilitated by social institutions, such as employment, the criminal jus tice system, and one's family. In contrast, treatment reentry among women w as associated with referral by a social worker, suggesting that contact wit h family service agencies can facilitate women's treatment entry. The findi ngs suggest that different strategies for increasing treatment utilization may be appropriate for men and women.