NCJ Number
142747
Date Published
1993
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Data from 1,076 female inmates in Florida prisons were used to compare the factors associated with drug abuse among these women.
Abstract
The participants represented 90 percent of those incarcerated in Florida's two State prisons for women in 1985. Study data came from their prison files, which included presentence investigation reports, medical reports, sociodemographic histories, and arrest and treatment histories, as well as statements made by social workers, prison classification officers, attorneys, and individuals involved in the criminal activity itself. The data were analyzed in terms of a three-part typology that included nonuse, casual or recreational use, and problem use of drugs. Results revealed that the extent of drug abuse was inversely related to age at first arrest as an adult, the age at incarceration, and employment at the time of arrest. The extent of drug abuse was also directly related to the number and percent of prior offenses and incarcerations, broken parental home, and criminality in the family of origin. Although nonusers were more likely than the others to have been convicted of homicide, the casual/recreational users were the most violent. Findings also produced no indication of an increase in drug use or abuse between 1975 and 1985. Tables, note, and 21 references (Author abstract modified)