Narcotics Use and Crime Among Addicted Women: Longitudinal Patterns and Effects of Social Interventions

• NCJ Number: 135919
• Author(s): Y-I Hser; M D Anglin; C-P Chou
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 37 pages
• Grant Number(s): DA06250; DA05544; DA00139; 87-IJ-CX-0042
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); National Institute on Drug Abuse; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Sale Source: University of California, Los Angeles
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: To be published in Drugs and Crime, T Mieczkowski, ed.

Annotation

Two mathematical models were developed and tested to examine causal relationships between drug use and crime for 328 white and Hispanic addicts who had been admitted to methadone maintenance clinics in Southern California.

Abstract

Retrospective longitudinal interviews provided data on individual addiction careers and crime. For modeling purposes, drug addiction was defined as daily drug use for 30 consecutive days or more. The first mathematical model focused on etiological relationships during the initial development of the addiction career (first 2 years). The second mathematical model incorporated social interventions targeting drug addiction (e.g., methadone maintenance and legal supervision with urine testing) and examined their effects over the entire addiction career. Both models suggested strong stability of behavior patterns over time as well as strong contemporaneous relationships between drug use and illicit activities. The second model further demonstrated important contemporaneous and longitudinal effects of social interventions in reducing drug addiction. In turn, these interventions decreased crime. Criminal activities of women addicted to drugs are examined including property crime, dealing drugs, and prostitution. 58 references, 5 tables, and 3 figures (Author abstract modified)