Gender differences in drug use behavior in people with serious mental illnesses.

The gender-specific aspects of drug use in women with serious mental illness (SMI) remains under-investigated. To improve our understanding of substance use in this population, gender differences in how drugs are initially accessed, how habits are financed and maintained, and reasons for drug use were examined in 28 women and 24 men with SMI. Women were found more likely than men to report being victimized, having drugs given to them by significant others, using money given to them by family members to support their habits, and using drugs to test their ability to control their use.