When it comes to substance abuse and addiction, women face a unique set of issues – a set of issues that vary significantly from those of their male counterparts. It can be easy to confide ‘sex’ with ‘gender,’ but when it comes to addictive disorders, both sex and gender play a role. Sex refers to an individual’s biological makeup, while gender refers to the culturally significant differences in societally accepted male roles and female roles.

For example, those of the female sex will undergo certain and specific biological experiences that could contribute to substance abuse – hormonal changes could lead to emotional upset, which could lead to self-medication. On the contrary, the female gender tends to experience more traumatic sexual assault, seeing as women are perceived a certain way in certain societies. The rates of substance abuse amongst females are extremely high. It has been reported that annually, well over 15 million American women over the age of 18 abuse illicit substances.

Here are several other ways in which substance abuse affects women differently than it affects men:

• When women use drugs, their brains are affected in different ways. They are more prone to developing substance abuse disorders in shorter periods.
• Women respond to drugs differently than men. They are more likely to relapse following inpatient treatment and generally benefit even more from transitional living situations.
• Women are at a greater risk of certain traumatic experiences, such as domestic violence and sexual assault. Traumatic experiences often lead to substance abuse and dependency.
• Because women typically have smaller frames than men, their bodies cannot process drugs in the same way that men’s bodies can. This leads to a greater risk of overdose.

Because women experience addiction differently than men, gender-specific transitional housing is very important such as New Jersey female halfway houses. At Riverbend Residence, we provide gender-specific transitional housing in New Jersey for women who have recently completed inpatient treatment and are ready to move on to the next appropriate phase of care.

Halfway Houses for Women

The New Jersey Institute for Women’s Leadership published a study titled “Substance Abuse and its Effect on Women.” Below are some of the facts that the study presented as far as substance abuse amongst female New Jersey residents.

• One out of every two female residents in New Jersey that struggle with substance abuse is a mother – the majority are single mothers.
• In the year 2000, there were well over 20,000 female New Jersey residents that desperately needed treatment and did not seek or receive the treatment they deserved.
• In the year 2003, only 12% of the treatment centers throughout the state that accepted women would help the women find childcare. One of the main issues when it comes to women (specifically for mothers) seeking treatment is the unmet need for childcare.
• While 90 percent of incarcerated men in New Jersey report that their children stay with their mother, only 28 percent of incarcerated women report that their child/children stay with their father.

Gender-Specific Transitional Living

Transitional living is an important step of the recovery process regardless of what gender an individual is – both men and women benefit from sober living housing. However, we understand that the unique needs of women who have been struggling with drug addiction or alcoholism are different than the unique needs of men. At River Bend Residences, we provide transitional housing that caters specifically to women – including mothers – and their gender-specific needs and requirements. Because New Jersey has been so hard hit by drug abuse and addiction, there have been many non-reputable transitional housing facilities that have popped up across the state in recent years.

Riverbend Residence offers female New Jersey residents the opportunity to transition from inpatient treatment into a less intensive – but equally as important – level of care. Women’s New Jersey Transitional Housing offers continued support and encouragement as women transition back into fully independent living. To learn more about our New Jersey women’s sober living, give us a call at (844) 505-3447 today for more information.