Health, social, and violence profiles of women in treatment for psychoactive substance use in Madrid

Abstract

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Objectives: This study aimed to describe the profile of women seeking treatment for the use of psychoactive substances in the city of Madrid. The study used a sample of 1968 women who sought treatment at the Addiction Care Centers (CAD) of the Madrid City Council in the year 2022, which accounted for 22.9 % of the total population attended. Study design: This quantitative study used secondary data provided by the Institute of Addictions (General Subdirectorate of Addictions, Madrid Salud). The analyses included bivariate analysis, correspondence analysis, K-means clustering, and ANOVA. Methods: Bivariate analysis was conducted to determine the association between the principal psychoactive substance and sociodemographic characteristics. Statistically significant results were employed to develop a correspondence analysis and used to conduct a K-means clustering analysis. The objective was to determine the profile of the women who sought treatment at the CAD of the Institute of Addictions (General Subdirectorate of Addictions of Madrid Salud). Results: The results revealed three profiles of women: 1) women who use cocaine and heroin, were unemployed with children, and had lower education; 2) women who used cannabis were not working, had no children, and had intermediate education; 3) women who used alcohol had children, higher education, and were working. All three profiles were associated with situations of domestic violence, where the percentages were very high in each of the profiles, regardless of the principal substance of use and the sociodemographic and health characteristics. Conclusions: The results highlight the need for tailored addiction treatment approaches that address the distinct social and health profiles of women in Madrid, including challenges such as motherhood, drug-related infections, and violence. These findings emphasize the importance of providing specialized services to approach the com plex needs of women undergoing addiction treatment.