Gender and Ethnicity Group Differences Among Substance Abuse Treatment Clients Insured Under Managed Care

This longitudinal study of substance abuse treatment in residential and outpatient settings examines substance abuse treatment under managed care insurance, and compares client characteristics, processes, and outcomes of substance abuse treatment, by gender and ethnicity. At baseline, the women in the study (N = 69), compared to men (N = 91), were on more psychotropic medications, had higher scores for drug dependency, and lower quality of life scores, including symptomatology and functional status. Women also had higher drug use scores before treatment than men, and fewer days of sobriety; after treatment there were no significant differences between women and men. Although these women were more affected by their substance abuse than men at baseline, the differences were eliminated by follow-up. At baseline, Caucasians (N= 103) used more psychotropic medications than Hispanics. Additionally, Caucasians had higher functional status and total quality of life compared to non-Caucasians (Hispanic and African-American, N= 47) with no other significant differences regarding drug use. At follow-up, more non-Caucasians had received SAT in the residential setting, completed treatment, had fewer individuals relapse, more days of sobriety, and more improvement in quality of life and functional status. Non-Caucasian outcomes were better than Caucasian outcomes; this may have been related to their greater utilization of residential treatment. Significant interaction effects between gender and ethnicity were found, including findings that Caucasian women had more in common with non-Caucasian women and men than with Caucasian men.