Mental Health, Abuse, Drug Use and Crime: Does Gender Matter?

• NCJ Number: 229128
• Author(s): Lubica Forsythe; Kerryn Adams
• Date Published: November 2009
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: AIC Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, No. 384, November 2009

Annotation

This study explored the relationship between drug use, offending, mental health, and experiences of child abuse and the influence of gender.

Abstract

The results of this study further supported the differential patterns of male and female drug use and offending. Female police detainees were more likely than male detainees to be using 'harder' illicit drugs such as heroin and amphetamines and were also more likely to have been arrested for a property offense. The study also demonstrated the importance of other factors that might play a role in illicit drug use and offending. Police detainees who currently and/or previously experienced mental illness were found to be more likely to have used drugs in the past month and to have been arrested in the previous year compared to those who had no experience for mental illness. Furthermore, this relationship was stronger for females than males. There are numerous theories and research studies in the criminological literature describing the relationship between drug use and offending. Using data from the Australian Institute of Criminology's Drug Use Monitoring in Australia program, this study explored the relationship between drug use, offending, mental health, and experiences of abuse among a sample of police detainees in Australia. In addition, the study examined gender differences in this relationship. Figure, tables and references