Female substance abuse - Characteristics and correlates in a sample of inpatient clients

This article reports on a study of 64 female substance abusers in residenti al treatment for chemical dependency. This study was conducted with the pur pose of describing the associations between: (a) demographic characteristic s, (b) presence and severity of addiction, (c) depression, and (d) self-est eem. All participants were drawn from inpatient females, and were administe red questionnaires that included the following instruments: (a) Screening/I ntake Assessment, (b) the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test, (c) the Addictio n Presence and Severity Index,(d) the Provision of Social Relations Scale, (e) the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and (f) the Costello-Comrey Depression Scale. Multivariate analyses revealed that levels of self-esteem were rela ted to detoxification status and social support. Depression levels were ass ociated with social support, and severity of addiction was more pronounced for White clients than Black clients in this study. Implications for progra m development are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights rese rved.