Division of Health Services, Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2011 Nov;37(6):491-6. doi: 10.3109/00952990.2011.600380. Epub 2011 Aug 18.
Little is known about the relationship of gender with cocaine use in rural areas. This study describes these relationships among stimulant users residing in rural areas of Arkansas, Kentucky, and Ohio.
Understanding the characteristics of crack and powder cocaine users in rural areas may help inform prevention, education, and treatment efforts to address rural stimulant use.
Participants were 690 stimulant users, including 274 (38.6%) females, residing in nine rural counties. Cocaine use was measured by self-report of cocaine use, frequency of use, age of first use, and cocaine abuse/dependence. Powder cocaine use was reported by 49% of this sample of stimulant users and 59% reported using crack cocaine.
Differing use patterns emerged for female and male cocaine users in this rural sample; females began using alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine at later ages than males but there were no gender differences in current powder cocaine use. Females reported more frequent use of crack cocaine and more cocaine abuse/dependence than males, and in regression analyses, female crack cocaine users had 1.8 times greater odds of reporting frequent crack use than male crack users.
These findings suggest differing profiles and patterns of cocaine use for male and female users in rural areas, supporting previous findings in urban areas of gender-based vulnerability to negative consequences of cocaine use. Further research on cocaine use in rural areas can provide insights into gender differences that can inform development and refinement of effective interventions in rural communities.
关于性别与农村地区可卡因使用之间的关系知之甚少。本研究描述了居住在阿肯色州、肯塔基州和俄亥俄州农村地区的兴奋剂使用者之间的这些关系。
了解农村地区可卡因使用者的特征可能有助于为解决农村地区兴奋剂使用问题提供预防、教育和治疗工作的信息。
研究对象为 690 名兴奋剂使用者，其中包括 274 名（38.6%）女性，居住在九个农村县。可卡因使用情况通过自我报告的可卡因使用情况、使用频率、首次使用年龄以及可卡因滥用/依赖情况来衡量。该兴奋剂使用者样本中有 49%的人报告使用了可卡因粉末，59%的人报告使用了可卡因碎片。
在这个农村样本中，女性和男性可卡因使用者的使用模式存在差异；女性开始使用酒精、大麻和可卡因的年龄晚于男性，但目前可卡因粉末的使用没有性别差异。女性报告更频繁地使用可卡因碎片，可卡因滥用/依赖程度也更高，在回归分析中，女性可卡因碎片使用者报告频繁使用可卡因碎片的可能性是男性可卡因碎片使用者的 1.8 倍。
这些发现表明，农村地区男性和女性可卡因使用者的使用模式存在差异，这支持了之前在城市地区发现的基于性别的可卡因使用负面后果易感性的研究结果。对农村地区可卡因使用情况的进一步研究可以深入了解性别差异，从而为农村社区制定和完善有效的干预措施提供信息。
