COMPARING WOMEN IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE

TREATMENT WHO REPORT SEXUAL AND/OR

PHYSICAL ABUSE WITH WOMEN WHO DO NOT
REPORT ABUSE HISTORY

THINA C. TORRES
BSN II
JOHN PAUL II COLLEGE OF DAVAO

SUBMITTED TO:

MS. CORA

ABSTRACT
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This descriptive study explored whether women in substance abuse

treatment who report a history of sexual and/or physical abuse have different drug
use profiles than women who do not report such abuse.
The data originated from a NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) study
designed to evaluate the effects of different treatment modalities in inpatient
substance abuse treatment for women.
The study compared the drug profiles of women in four areas: drug of choice,
frequency of use, problem severity, and level of psychological problems. The
following groups were compared: 1) women who did not report abuse, 2) women
who reported physical abuse only, 3) women who reported sexual abuse only, and
4) women who reported physical and sexual abuse.
The study did not find significant differences in either drug choice, problem
severity, or frequency of drug use. In the area of psychological problems, the study
did find a significant difference in interpersonal sensitivity between participants who
reported a sexual abuse history vs. the other abuse groups. This finding suggests
that women with a sexual abuse history are more mistrustful in their relationships
with others, and this may suggest that group treatment will be more difficult for
sexually abused women than individual treatment.
Overall, the findings may also suggest abused women do not need different
drug or alcohol treatment approaches than non-abused women although it does not
preclude attention to the effects of their abuse.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT
INDEX OF TABLES

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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1
Problem and Its Setting
Significance
Theoretical Framework
Rationale of the Study

1
3
4
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CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

Women and Substance Abuse
History of Female Substance Abuse Research in the United States
Prevalence of Female Substance Abuse
Health Effects of Substance Abuse
Social and Economic Effects of Substance Abuse
Women and Childhood Abuse
Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse
Effects of Childhood Physical Abuse
Abused Women and Substance Abuse
Prevalence
Reasons for Female Substance Abuse
Womens Needs in Treatment
Treating Trauma and Abuse
Summary

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10
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CHAPTER III: METHODS

Introduction
Participants and Recruitment Process
Procedures
Instruments
Intake Interview Abuse Status and Drug of Choice
Addiction Severity Index
SCL-90-R
Design
Analysis

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CHAPTER IV: RESULTS

Participants
Research Question One
Research Question Two
Research Questions Three Nine
Research Questions Ten Eighteen

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CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION
Discussion of Results for Research Question One
Discussion of Results for Research Question Two
Discussion of Results for Research Question Three Nine
Discussion of Results for Research Questions Ten Eighteen
Limitation
Clinical Implications
Future Research
Summary

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REFERENCES

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