Conversely, males had higher prevalence of most dependence diagnoses and were more likely to be involved in antisocial behaviours. Males and females had similar lifetime prevalence of sedative and cocaine dependence. In general population studies, prescribed sedative use is often higher amongst females (Goodwin & Hasin, 2002) but this pattern may not extend to sedative dependence amongst heroin users (Darke & Ross, 1997). However, female heroin users have been shown to obtain more benzodiazepine prescriptions than male heroin users (Darke, et al., 2003). Overall, males appeared to have a higher prevalence of externalising problems, whereas females were more at risk of internalising disorders.
