NCJ Number
175610
Journal
Drugs & Society Volume: 13 Issue: 1/2 Dated: 1998 Pages: 131-144
Date Published
1998
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study investigated self-reported life experiences of violent encounters for 98 women enrolled in a residential drug treatment center in Tucson, Arizona.
Abstract
The violence questionnaire was administered during baseline interviews. These interviews occurred within the first 2 weeks of treatment entry and were conducted in private individual sessions. The 98 women reported the use of cocaine-crack (40.8 percent), amphetamines (19.4 percent), heroin (14.3 percent), alcohol (13.3 percent), marijuana (7.1 percent), other opiates (3.1 percent), and no alcohol or drug problem (2 percent). Many women said they were both perpetrators and victims of violence. Aggressive acts from or against others were partially related to the amount of power women had in the relationship and to the setting in which violence occurred. About 78 percent of women reported being the victim of some type of violence. While women reported being the perpetrator of violence against their sexual partner less often than being the victim of violence from their sexual partner, this difference was accounted for by the high percentage of male partners violating their female partners sexually. As expected, women were less likely to be the perpetrator of violence toward a stranger as opposed to the recipient of violence. Treatment recommendations are offered that focus on both perpetrators and victims of violence. 18 references and 5 tables