NCJ Number
198447
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 27 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2002 Pages: 1-5,24,26
Date Published
December 2002
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined the issue of how female drug court participants differed from male drug court participants and discusses the implications of these differences for treatment strategies.
Abstract
It is important to understand offenders’ individual strengths and weaknesses within the context of drug court, especially given the tremendous increase in female drug offending. Research indicates that gender differences between men and women exist in how they become addicted and how they respond to treatment. Data were collected as part of the University of Missouri School of Social Work and the Missouri Office of the State Court Administrator’s Multi-Jurisdictional Enhancement of Drug Courts, which included 10 adult drug courts. All but one of the drug courts were in non-urban settings. Data were collected on more than 95 percent of all individuals that entered the 10 drug courts from their inception through June 2001. The sample included 474 men and 211 women that had completed a drug court program, either through termination or graduation. Results show that significant differences in outcomes and characteristics existed between men and women in these adult drug courts. Women were more likely to graduate and they differed in significant ways from men in both their pathways to addiction and the context in which they lived their lives. Men and women differed by race, age, and employment level at program entry. Race was closely tied to outcomes. Caucasian women had the highest graduation rate. African-American women were among the lowest. The women tended to be older; the average age was 31 compared to 29 for men. The men were much more likely to have been employed full-time at program entry than were the women. More women than men had children. However, significant proportions of the women did not have responsibility for their children at the time they entered drug court. Women received less economic and family support at entry. Women tended to use drugs that were more severely addictive, such as cocaine and stimulants. 3 tables, 2 references