NCJ Number
223547
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2008 Pages: 435-453
Date Published
August 2008
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study was a gender based examination of drug-crime relationships.
Abstract
The results of this study revealed both important differences and strong similarities in the drug-crime typologies of male and female arrestees. Five groups were identified in both the male and female cluster analyses. Common to both were Violent Alcoholics and Illegal Income-Generating Opiate Addicts; qualitatively distinct groups shared Alcohol and Cocaine Dependence and Marijuana Use. The male cluster also included Nuisance Inebriates. Recent drug-crime scholarship has underscored the importance of conducting disaggregated research that focuses on the consistencies and variations between subcategories of drug misuse and criminal activity and, further, how these associations may vary across sociodemographic and cultural boundaries. Pursuant to their findings, implications are discussed for developing and targeting responsive treatment services that match the particular risks and needs of drug-involved offenders. The research presented in this article used cluster analysis to independently classify male and female arrestees based on their arrest charges and substance-specific indicators of initiation, use, dependence, and treatment need. Data came from Pennsylvania's Substance Abuse and Need for Treatment Among Arrestees Study conducted as part of the State Treatment Needs Assessment Program from July 1997 and March 1998. Arrestees were sampled by voluntary interview from holding facilities in three Pennsylvania counties. Tables, notes, references