Open AccessDesistance and Treatment Seeking Among Women With Substance Use Disorders
Author(s) -
Blythe E. Rhodes,
Nisha C. Gottfredson,
Lauren Hill
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
qualitative health research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.303
H-Index - 113
eISSN - 1552-7557
pISSN - 1049-7323
DOI - 10.1177/1049732318767637
Subject(s) - feeling , addiction , thematic analysis , substance use , psychology , qualitative research , affect (linguistics) , perception , mental health , psychiatry , addiction treatment , clinical psychology , medicine , social psychology , social science , communication , neuroscience , sociology
Addiction rates are rising faster among women than men. However, women with substance use disorders are less likely to enter treatment than males. This study seeks to understand how turning-point events and other maturational processes affect "life course persistent" women's motivations for seeking treatment for their disorder. We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 30 women who were receiving treatment for addiction using thematic analysis. Recurring themes were as follows: experiences of rock-bottom events prior to entering treatment, feeling "sick and tired" in regard to both their physical and mental health, and shifting identities or perceptions of themselves. We discuss the importance of motivating shifts in identity to prevent women from entering treatment as a result of more traumatic mechanisms as well as the possibility of intercepting women with substance dependence and chronic health conditions in primary care or hospital settings with the aim of encouraging treatment.