Psychosocial profile of adolescents who consume drugs: an analysis of gender differences

This research studies the possible gender differences in a case study of 176 adolescent
boys and girls with abusive drug use who were treated in an Outpatient Treatment Centre;
it analyses different psychosocial factors (personal resources, family variables and social
variables) that can influence drug use differently. The inter-subject effect tests indicate
that the teen girls who use illegal drugs have a higher level of empathy, more depressive
symptoms, a greater offensive, less open communication with both parents, a greater
avoidant communication with fathers, misunderstanding of family cohesiveness, a greater
perception of family conflict and less community participation compared to adolescent boys
who abuse illegal drugs. These results facilitate part of the understanding of the problem
of drug addiction in adolescence and its differences of gender; therefore, the conclusion
drawn can be useful so that the professionals involved in the intervention with adolescents
with drug use problems can innovate in differential actions and can adapt to the needs of
people according to their gender.