Insecure Attachment and Drug Misuse among Women

Abstract

The relationship between attachment and gender is well researched in social work, as is the influence of insecure attachment on drug misuse. However, discussion of the interrelationship among insecure attachment, gender, and drug misuse is sparse in the social work literature, with contradictory findings. The attachment literature indicates that males and females exposed to the same stressful events may differ in their reaction to stressors and to insecure attachments. Some studies find that gender differences emerge in infancy, others argue that they emerge from middle school and onward. Some authors report that attachment differences may be related to the fact that parents tend to use more emotional language with girls than boys, while other authors report that female children are more prone to discuss their emotions openly than male children. Regardless of the causal direction, there seems to be agreement that attachment is influenced by gender and that insecure attachment can have unique consequences for girls and women that are heretofore understudied. This conceptual paper provides an overview of the relationships between attachment, drug misuse, and gender in an effort to advance our understanding of the role gender plays in drug misuse among women. Recommendations are also discussed for attachment-based assessment and treatment approaches that may benefit women who misuse drugs and their families.