Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 1989 Feb;46(2):122-6.
doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1989.01810020024005.

A comparison of male and female cocaine abusers

M L Griffin  1 , R D Weiss, S M Mirin, U Lange
Affiliations
Comparative Study

A comparison of male and female cocaine abusers

M L Griffin et al. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1989 Feb.

Abstract

Little has been written about the differences between male and female cocaine abusers. We therefore compared sociodemographic characteristics, reasons for cocaine use, drug effects, depressive symptoms, and psychiatric diagnoses in 95 men and 34 women hospitalized for cocaine abuse. Men were more likely to be employed, to hold higher status jobs, and to be self-supporting. Women were more likely to cite specific reasons for drug use, while men tended to use cocaine as part of a larger pattern of antisocial behavior. Women were diagnosed more often as having major depression, and their depressive symptoms improved much more slowly than men's when drug free. These findings suggest that women cocaine abusers may initially experience more residual problems, eg, depression and job dissatisfaction, than men after becoming drug free. Drug treatment centers should be alert to possible differences based on gender.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

-