Single-gender treatment of substance abuse: Effect on treatment retention and completion

Increasing emphasis has been placed on the development of gender-specific treatment programs to address the unique needs of women substance abusers. Some authors have suggested that this task can be accomplished by simply providing single-gender programs; yet others have argued that simply segregating substance abuse clients by gender has no effect on outcomes. The latter have suggested that in addition to providing women-only programs, different treatment approaches must be adopted. The purpose of the study described in this article was to investigate the effect of one agency's change from mixed-gender to single-gender treatment on client retention and treatment completion. Data were collected on 305 men and 102 women who were treated in either mixedgender or single-gender settings. Results indicate that substance abuse treatment provided in single-gender settings does not significantly increase treatment retention and completion. These findings lend support to the contention that to improve treatment outcomes for women substance abusers, gender-specific treatment must do more than provide traditional treatment in a single-gender environment.