NCJ Number
194589
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 17 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2002 Pages: 91-105
Date Published
March 2002
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the relationship between substance use and partner abuse among women (n=1,025) who entered drug-treatment programs through the criminal justice systems in New York City and Portland, Oregon.
Abstract
Except for age and education, the background characteristics of the women in the two cities differed significantly. Women in each of the two cities were generally in their early thirties and reported ending their education about 1 year before high school graduation. In New York, about three-fifths of the women were African-American, and one-third were Latina. In Portland, 70 percent of the women were white, and approximately one in five were either African-American or Latina. The majority of women in New York reported never being married, and in Portland an equal number of women (42 percent) indicated they had never been married, or they were divorced, separated, or widowed. The women were provided a list of substances and asked to indicate which ones they used regularly (three or more days a week for a month or more) over the course of their lifetimes. In addition, the women were asked about the substances they used in the year before they entered drug treatment or were last incarcerated. The women were also asked where they typically got "high" and how often they typically got "high" with their partners when they were using substances. To assess partner abuse, the study modified the Conflict Tactics Scale. Analyses examined between-city differences in demographic characteristics, substance use, lifetime partner abuse, and substances used during conflicts with partners. The self-report data on substance use and partner abuse indicated that although the rate of partner abuse in both cities was well above the national average, the less substance-involved women in Portland reported more abuse than their New York counterparts. The analyses suggest that the relationship between partner abuse and substance use during conflicts varied within the population of women offenders who were heavy drug users, with women in Portland reporting a greater direct link between partner abuse and substance use. The findings indicate that there is a need for drug-treatment providers to understand their clients' victimization histories and the relationship between partner abuse and substance use in order to engage clients in the treatment process and help them learn how to avoid being victimized in the future. 5 tables and 34 references