Understanding female experience of addiction and developing paradigm model for addicted women

Women’s addiction is a gender category and it has received less attention than addiction in men. Although addicted women experience many difficult problems, they enjoy less social support and services. The aim of the study is to examine this phenomenon and female experience of addiction, and develop a paradigm model for women’s addiction.

It is a qualitative research. To find out the lived experience of addicted women, the grounded theory (GT) method was applied in the first stage and the data were collected through in depth, semi-structured interview. 30 women were studied in 2019. Sampling was started in targeted form and ended by achieving the theoretical saturation point. Data were coded and analyzed using strauss and corbin method within three steps of open, axial and selective coding.

According to the axial category, women’s addiction is a subsequent reaction which occurs under family and social disorder circumstances and has physical, mental, economic and social consequences.

Based on lived experience of addicted women, addiction in women can be divided into 4 stages: stage1 is knowing the substance and beginning to use, stage 2 is making doubt, stage 3 is dependence, and stage 4 is overcoming and abandoning the drug use.