Gender Differences in the Life Concerns of Persons Seeking Alcohol Detoxification

•Mental health, smoking, and finances are the most prevalent life concerns.•Gender affects the life concerns of persons with alcohol use disorders.•Men more concerned than women about money and drug use problems.•Men reported greater concern than women in most domains assessed.

BackgroundThis study explored the life concerns of persons seeking alcohol detoxification, a group with multiple life and psychosocial challenges. Gender may be an important contributor to the particular life concerns of persons with alcohol use disorders.MethodsUsing a 32-item, previously-validated life concerns survey that captures ten conceptual domains, we interviewed persons entering inpatient alcohol detoxification asking them to rate their level of concern about health and welfare items.ResultsParticipants (n = 189) were 27% female, with a mean age of 43.5 years. Overall, concern about alcohol problems was perceived as the most serious, followed by mental health, cigarette smoking, financial, and relationship problems. Men were significantly more concerned than women about six of the ten domains including money, drug use, transmissible diseases, and physical illness.ConclusionsRecognition of the daily worries of persons seeking inpatient alcohol detoxification persons could allow providers to better tailor their services to the context of their patients' lives. Focusing on pressing life concerns such as mental health, financial, relationship problems, and other drug use may influence detoxification services and aftercare treatment choices.