Patients with substance use disorder (SUD) who undergo treatment present a high prevalence of lifetime physical and/or sexual abuse. Studies about this phenomenon and the specific needs of patients with a history of abuse must be carried out to tailor treatment programs. The first goal of this article was to determine the prevalence of physical and/or sexual abuse among patients with SUD, and the second goal was to analyze the specific characteristics of these patients. A sample of 418 subjects was assessed to achieve the first goal and 104 subjects (52 with and 52 without a history of physical and/or sexual abuse) were examined to reach the second goal. All patients sought treatment for SUD in two Spanish clinical centers. The results showed that 15.5% of the sample had a history of physical and/or sexual abuse (42.3% of women and 9.9% of men). Patients with a history of abuse presented a higher need for SUD treatment in family and psychiatric areas and more psychopathological symptoms than patients without a history of abuse. According to this more serious profile, a patient-centered intervention considering the history of abuse is recommended. This will allow the specific needs of these patients to be met, thus improving SUD treatment success.
Keywords: assessment; comorbidity; physical abuse; sexual abuse; substance use disorder.