A history of sexual violence
has been related to more complex treatment needs in patients with substance use
disorders (SUD). Most of the existing studies, however, included patients with
various types of SUD, did not examine gender differences and focused on a small
range of clinical domains.
Our sample consisted of opioid-dependent outpatients
treated during a three-year period in a German metropolitan region. The
analysis was based on a local case register and included all patients for whom
information on lifetime sexual violence was available (N=3531; 68.3% males).
In
a case-control design, patients with a history of sexual violence were compared
to patients without these experiences regarding a wide range of clinical and
social factors indicative of potential needs. Almost two thirds (65.6%) of the
female patients and 10.9% of the males reported experiences of sexual violence.
Victims differed from non-victims across a variety of domains, including more
psychiatric symptoms and suicide attempts, more legal problems, financial and
family problems, as well as a higher use of services.
In contrast to a previous
study among alcohol-dependent patients, no gender differences became apparent.
Our findings suggest that experiences of sexual violence are an indicator for
more complex needs in opioid-dependent patients of both genders. In addition to
integrated trauma-informed approaches, an effort needs to be made to link
addiction facilities to further institutions to meet these complex needs.
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By:
- 1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany; Center for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research, University of Hamburg, Germany. Electronic address: i.schaefer@uke.de.
- 2Center for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research, University of Hamburg, Germany.
- 3Institute of Medical Psychology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
- 4Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany; Center for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research, University of Hamburg, Germany.
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