Imprisoned Drug Offenders in Taiwan: A Gender-Based Analysis

• NCJ Number: 201182
• Journal: Substance Use & Misuse Volume: 38 Issue: 7 Dated: 2003 Pages: 933-964
• Author(s): Furjen Deng; Michael S. Vaughn; Lou-Jou Lee
• Editor(s): Stanley Einstein Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2003
• Length: 32 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examines differences between incarcerated men and women from a nationwide survey of drug-user offenders in Taiwan.

Abstract

Due to prisons around the world predominantly housing men, the majority of research on prison populations has focused on male inmates. Recent studies have indicated similarities in age and low socioeconomic class backgrounds between incarcerated men and women and differences with respect to childhood experiences, psychological characteristics, sexual risk behaviors, and drug and crime histories. Using data collected from a 1999 nationwide survey of 700 incarcerated drug users in Taiwan, this study compared gender differences with regard to the above stated differences with six hypotheses posed: (1) female drug offenders were more likely to grow up in a dysfunctional and abusive family; (2) female drug offenders were morel likely to be unemployed and hold stereotypical female occupations; (3) female drug offenders were more likely to depend on family support; (4) female drug offenders were more likely to be introduced to drugs by their intimate partners or close friends; (5) female drug offenders were less likely to possess probation violations and commit violent offenses; and (6) female drug offenders showed less severity of illicit drug addiction. The overall results indicate that female drug-user offenders in Taiwan experience different pathways to imprisonment than male drug-user offenders. Female drug offenders in Taiwan were more likely to have spouses with alcohol or drug use-associated problems, experience physical or sexual abuse, grow up in non-two-parent households, and hold temporary and stereotypical female jobs. However, female drug offenders were less violent and had fewer prior arrests. Women relied on friends and acquaintances to procure their drugs. To strengthen the validity of these findings future research exploring the complexity of the relationship between drugs and crime is recommended. Tables and references