Contingency management treatments are equally efficacious for both sexes in intensive outpatient settings.

Abstract

Clear differences are present in men and women's developmental course of substance use disorders. Whether these sex differences affect substance abuse treatment outcomes is less apparent. The present study investigated sex differences in demographic and intake characteristics and assessed sex, treatment condition, and interactive effects on 3 treatment outcomes: treatment retention, longest duration of abstinence, and percentage of negative samples submitted. Participants (N = 920) were randomized to contingency management (CM) for abstinence or standard care treatment in 1 of 5 clinical trials. In terms of pretreatment characteristics, women reported lower educational achievement and more unemployment; were younger and more likely to submit a positive urine sample at intake; and experienced more problems in employment, drug, family, and psychiatric domains. Men reported more years of alcohol use and significantly higher alcohol and legal problem severity. Men and women stayed in treatment for similar durations of time and had similar abstinence outcomes. No significant Sex × Treatment Condition interactions were present across the 3 outcomes. These results suggest that treatment-seeking substance users in intensive outpatient settings benefit equally well from CM interventions, regardless of sex.