Women’s Use of Substance Use Disorder Treatment Services: Rates, Correlates, and Comparisons to Men

In spite of evidence of increasing prevalence of substance use disorders (SUDs) among women, there is little information on gender differences in SUD treatment use. Nationally representative survey data were used to compare specialized SUD treatment among women and men with past-year DSM-5 SUD diagnoses (N = 5,789, 42.8% women). An estimated 10.7% of women and 9.9% of men ( p = 0.45) received SUD treatment. Those who received treatment among both men and women had more problems than others. Five variables were independently associated with receipt of past-year treatment in both women and men and while five others were independently associated with receipt of treatment for only one gender. Interaction analysis, however, revealed no statistically significant gender differences in any correlate of treatment receipt. Although men were more likely to have SUDs than women, there were no significant differences by gender in rates or correlates of service use.