Correlates of Drug Dealing in Female Methamphetamine Users

Abstract

Female drug dealers have been a neglected population despite their potentially elevated risk for social, legal, family, and psychological health problems. This study examined correlates of drug-dealing behavior in a sample of 209 female methamphetamine users in San Diego, CA. Twenty-five percent of the sample reported dealing methamphetamine in the past 2 months. Women who dealt methamphetamine were significantly more likely than their nondealing counterparts to have started using illicit drugs before the age of 13 years (68 % versus 44.7 %, p = .003); to have been introduced to methamphetamine by a parent (15.1 % versus 5.8 %, p = .037); and to report currently using methamphetamine to stay awake (84.9 % versus 64.7 %, p = .004), enhance self-confidence (62.3 % versus 45.5 %, p = .025), and feel more attractive (54.7 % versus 38.5 %, p = .029). In a multivariate logistic regression, factors independently associated with methamphetamine dealing were: having a spouse or live-in partner (Adjusted Odds Ratio, AOR = 2.89), using methamphetamine with a broader range of types of person (AOR = 1.46), and reporting lower levels of emotional support (AOR = 0.57). These findings suggest that female methamphetamine dealers are in urgent need of access to substance use treatment, therapies to enhance self-worth and emotional support, and family-based substance use prevention interventions for dependent children and those at risk.

Prevalence and correlates of selling illicit cannabis among people who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada: A ten-year prospective cohort study

“…We observed greater likelihoods of cannabis selling among younger individuals and males, consistent with cohort data from at-risk youth in North America reporting that over half of the participants have engaged in drug dealing, while studies of older PWUD report prevalence estimates of 17-25% (Gwadz et al, 2009;Kerr et al, 2008;Semple, Strathdee, Zians, & Patterson, 2013;Werb et al, 2008). Many PWUD initiate and continue drug dealing despite the associated risks, due to the need to support ongoing drug use, as well as the stigmatization and marginalization that persist as barriers to participation in the legal economy (Fast et al, 2017;Hepburn et al, 2016;Small et al, 2013;Werb et al, 2011).…”

Psychiatric Comorbidity and Psychopathology of Methamphetamine Users—Are There Gender Differences?

“…MA-using women were reported to have high rates of depression (Hser et al, 2005;Zweben et al, 2004, Rawson et al, 2005. Regarding further gender aspects, female MA users are characterized by having unstable (sexual) partnerships (e.g., Brecht & Herbeck, 2014;Semple et al, 2013) and having a low educational level (Ludwig-Barron et al, 2014;Shen et al, 2012). Female and male MA users suffer from economic shortcomings and the participation in the labor market is limited, especially in female MA users (e.g., Gorman et al, 2003;Lamonica & Boeri, 2015;Powelson et al, 2014;Rommel et al, 2015;Semple et al, 2013).…”

“…Regarding further gender aspects, female MA users are characterized by having unstable (sexual) partnerships (e.g., Brecht & Herbeck, 2014;Semple et al, 2013) and having a low educational level (Ludwig-Barron et al, 2014;Shen et al, 2012). Female and male MA users suffer from economic shortcomings and the participation in the labor market is limited, especially in female MA users (e.g., Gorman et al, 2003;Lamonica & Boeri, 2015;Powelson et al, 2014;Rommel et al, 2015;Semple et al, 2013). Furthermore, MA-using women are at high risk for (unplanned) pregnancies due to frequent high-risk sexual behavior and are relatively young when bearing their first child (Brecht & Herbeck, 2014;Mühlig et al, 2015).…”

Elevated risk of incarceration among street-involved youth who initiate drug dealing

“…Potential confounders were chosen based on a known or hypothesized association with incarceration and drug dealing initiation [12, 14, 37, 38]. These included the following: age (per year older); gender (female vs. male); ethnicity (Caucasian vs. others); homelessness [defined as having no fixed address, sleeping on the street, couch surfing, or staying in a shelter or hostel (yes vs. no)]; any injection and non-injection crystal methamphetamine use (yes vs. no); any crack-cocaine smoking (yes vs. no); any injection and non-injection heroin use (yes vs. no); any injection and non-injection cocaine use (yes vs. no); accessing services [defined as recently accessing any health or social service (e.g.…”