Studies have shown high association between trauma exposure in childhood and adulthood, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder (SUD). Women seeking treatment for SUD are more likely to have histories of sexual and physical abuse.

To study the effect of gender difference on the history of traumatic experiences and the mental health problems of the SUD patients.

Cross-sectional comparative study was conducted at the Addiction Treatment Center at El Maamoura psychiatric hospital. Two hundred adult inpatients were recruited and assessed using a structured interview questionnaire to collect sociodemographic data, substance-use history, and medical and psychiatric history. The semi structured psychiatric interview was applied, and psychometric assessment was performed using Arabic version of Trauma History Screen (THS) for assessment of trauma exposure, and the Arabic version of the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, civilian version (PCL-C) for assessment of current PTSD.

One hundred and fifty-six were males (78.0%), 44 were females (22.0%). Females were significantly more likely to be exposed to sexual abuse at childhood (P=0.002) and adulthood (P=0.050), score higher on PCL-C (P=0.002), to have major depressive disorder (MDD) (P=0.028), and have suicidal plans and attempts (P=0.001).

Females with substance use disorder are more likely to be victims of sexual trauma, to develop Post-traumatic stress disorder and to have more complicated psychiatric comorbidities than their male counterparts.