Dean Connolly1, Emma Davies2, Michael Lynskey3, Monica J Barratt4, Larissa Maier5, Jason Ferris6, Adam Winstock7, Gail Gilchrist3. 1. Addictions Sciences Building, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK; Newham University Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK. Electronic address: dean.connolly1@nhs.net. 2. Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, UK. 3. Addictions Sciences Building, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK. 4. Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, NSW, Australia. 5. Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of California, San Francisco, USA; Early Postdoc Mobility Grantee, Swiss National Science Foundation, Bern, Switzerland. 6. Centre for Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Australia. 7. University College London, UK; Global Drug Survey, UK.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Transgender (trans) people experience stressors related to their minority status which have been associated with increased rates of psychoactive substance use and related harm. Despite this, there is a paucity of evidence relating to the treatment needs of trans people who use psychoactive substances, beyond a small body of literature describing a culture of transphobic hostility in general substance misuse services. This paper aims to describe and compare psychoactive substance misuse help-seeking among trans and cisgender (cis) participants from a large multi-national cross-sectional survey. METHODS: Over 180,000 participants, recruited from the world's largest annual survey of drug use - the Global Drug Survey - during 2018 and 2019, reported use of a range of psychoactive substances in the preceding 12 months. Five gender groups (118,157 cis men, 64,319 cis women, 369 trans men, 353 trans women and 1857 non-binary people) were compared on items relating to the desire to use less psychoactive substances and the need to seek help to achieve this. RESULTS: Trans respondents (n = 1710) to GDS 2018 were significantly more likely to report use of illicit substances (OR = 1.66-2.93) and dependence on cannabis (OR = 2.39) and alcohol (OR = 3.28). In the combined GDS 2018 and 2019 dataset, there were no significant differences between trans (n = 2579) and cis (n = 182,476) participants on the desire to reduce substance use. However, among those who did report wanting to use less, trans participants were more likely to want help to achieve this. CONCLUSION: Trans respondents reported a greater need for help with reducing substance use than cis respondents. Given the deficit of specialist services for psychoactive substance users who are trans, there is a need for a more thorough understanding of the barriers and facilitators to their engagement in general substance misuse services. In the interim, substance misuse service providers require education about gender minority status to help meet the needs of trans clients.
INTRODUCTION: Transgender (trans) people experience stressors related to their minority status which have been associated with increased rates of psychoactive substance use and related harm. Despite this, there is a paucity of evidence relating to the treatment needs of trans people who use psychoactive substances, beyond a small body of literature describing a culture of transphobic hostility in general substance misuse services. This paper aims to describe and compare psychoactive substance misuse help-seeking among trans and cisgender (cis) participants from a large multi-national cross-sectional survey. METHODS: Over 180,000 participants, recruited from the world's largest annual survey of drug use - the Global Drug Survey - during 2018 and 2019, reported use of a range of psychoactive substances in the preceding 12 months. Five gender groups (118,157 cis men, 64,319 cis women, 369 trans men, 353 trans women and 1857 non-binary people) were compared on items relating to the desire to use less psychoactive substances and the need to seek help to achieve this. RESULTS: Trans respondents (n = 1710) to GDS 2018 were significantly more likely to report use of illicit substances (OR = 1.66-2.93) and dependence on cannabis (OR = 2.39) and alcohol (OR = 3.28). In the combined GDS 2018 and 2019 dataset, there were no significant differences between trans (n = 2579) and cis (n = 182,476) participants on the desire to reduce substance use. However, among those who did report wanting to use less, trans participants were more likely to want help to achieve this. CONCLUSION: Trans respondents reported a greater need for help with reducing substance use than cis respondents. Given the deficit of specialist services for psychoactive substance users who are trans, there is a need for a more thorough understanding of the barriers and facilitators to their engagement in general substance misuse services. In the interim, substance misuse service providers require education about gender minority status to help meet the needs of trans clients.
Authors: Sara Dahlen; Dean Connolly; Isra Arif; Muhammad Hyder Junejo; Susan Bewley; Catherine Meads Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2021-04-29 Impact factor: 2.692
Authors: Nibene H Somé; Mostafa Shokoohi; Kevin D Shield; Samantha Wells; Hayley A Hamilton; Tara Elton-Marshall; Alex Abramovich Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2022-03-07 Impact factor: 3.295