Trauma of Women with Substance Use Disorders

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Based on criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th

edition (DSM-IV), an estimated 22.5 million Americans are classified with a substance use

disorder (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2010). Of these, 3.2

million Americans are classified with a substance use disorder that includes both alcohol and

illicit drugs (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2010). Substance use

disorders are the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorder in the United States (Compton,

Thomas, Stinson, & Grant, 2007).

Estimates of the overall costs of substance use disorders within the United States

measured by diminished vocational and educational productivity, unemployment, domestic

violence, child abuse, family disintegration, alcohol related accidents, rising medical costs,

crime, and children born with substance related complications, exceeds $600 billion annually.

This includes $181 billion for illicit drugs, $193 billion for tobacco and $235 billion for alcohol

(National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2011). As staggering as these numbers are, they do not fully describe the breadth of the destructive public health and safety implications of substance use

disorders.