Gender Differences in Treatment Entry and Retention among Prisoners with Substance Use Histories

摘要

This paper examined gender similarities and differences in the predictors of treatment entry and the combination of treatment entry and completion. The sample consisted of 2,219 male and female program participants. Maximum likelihood probit estimation was used to identify background and attitudinal characteristics predictive of treatment entry and retention. There were gender similarities and differences in predictors of treatment entry and the combination of treatment entry and completion. Many of the factors which attract individuals to treatment are the same which keep individuals in treatment. The greatest consistency in results when making gender comparisons and when comparing predictors of treatment entry to predictors of treatment entry and completion was for attitudinal predictors, namely motivation to change.