ABSTRACT
Women are less likely than men to enter treatment for substance misuse problems. The rate of illicit drug use is about half that of men and yet women only make up between 10 per cent and 30 per cent of most treatment samples. Perhaps women are underrepresented because most services are tailored to the needs of the male majority and do not appeal to women. This, in turn, suggests that there may be differences in the way women misuse drugs and the range of psychological and social problems that they suffer, compared to men, but is this indeed so?
