Correlates of heroin and methamphetamine use among homeless male ex-jail and prison offenders

Abstract

Homeless men exiting California State jails and prisons are a heterogeneous community with varied childhood, incarceration and drug use histories. This cross-sectional study assessed whether homeless men who were discharged from either jail or prison into a residential substance abuse treatment program, differed in terms of methamphetamine and heroin use. This study utilized baseline data collected on 540 recently paroled men randomized to one of three programs that assessed the impact of a peer coaching intervention on subsequent drug use and re-incarceration. We found that younger ex-offenders exiting prisons and jails were more likely to have used methamphetamine alone, whereas African American ex-offenders were less likely to have used methamphetamine alone when compared to other ethnic groups. Further, ex-offenders exiting jails and self-reporting use of heroin only at baseline were significantly more likely than their counterparts to have been removed from home before age 18. For men exiting jails, there was an association between lower self-esteem and having used methamphetamine but not heroin. However, having used both heroin and methamphetamine was associated with both violent crime and cognitive problems in both jail and prison samples. Our findings showcase the need to understand unique correlates of both heroin and methamphetamine as they relate to jail and prison populations.

Violence and victimisation in the lives of persons experiencing homelessness who use methamphetamine: A scoping review

“…In contrast to common perceptions about the use of MA leading to violent behaviour, the findings of our review identified only three studies demonstrating a correlation between MA use and the perpetration of violence among persons experiencing homelessness (Fast et al, 2014;Martin et al, 2006;Nyamathi et al, 2014a). The existence of only three studies with these findings suggests that either existing literature has failed to demonstrate an empirical relationship between MA use and the perpetration of violence, or that this area of research is underdeveloped.…”

“…Four (20%) of the included studies explored the relationship between MA use, crime and physical altercations (Fast et al., 2014; Martin et al., 2006, 2009; Nyamathi et al., 2014a). In two of these studies, MA use was linked to the perpetration of a violent crime (Fast et al., 2014; Nyamathi et al., 2014a). This was described by a participant in one of these studies as: ‘…you looooooooove getting into trouble when you're on meth though.…”

“…Three (15%) of the included studies investigated associations between challenging behaviour and the use of MA (Bungay et al, 2006;Nyamathi et al, 2014aNyamathi et al, , 2014b. Behaviours described as having the Using methamphetamine to avoid victimization…”

“…Four (20%) of the included studies explored the relationship between MA use, crime and physical altercations (Fast et al, 2014;Martin et al, 2006Martin et al, , 2009Nyamathi et al, 2014a). In two of these studies, MA use was linked to the perpetration of a violent crime (Fast et al, 2014;Nyamathi et al, 2014a). This was described by a participant in one of these studies as: '…you looooooooove getting into trouble when you're on meth though.…”

Trends and mental health correlates of nonmedical opioid use among criminal justice-involved African American men

“…This finding also suggests African American men involved in the criminal justice system may encounter unique sociodemographic and psychosocial risk factors, which are not being captured in extant literature, conceptualizing NMOU as a ‘White problem’ in suburban (Cicero et al, 2014) and rural areas (Love et al, 2016). Consistent with the availability-proneness theory (Smart, 1980), these psychosocial risk factors may include: re-entry stress (Baron et al, 2013; Lee et al, 2017), mental illness (Broz & Oullet, 2010), homelessness (Nyamathi et al, 2014), and poverty (Bright, 2012). In the absence of adequate resources, these psychosocial stressors may persist and increase their proneness to engage in substance use, criminal behavior (Mahaffey et al, 2017), and consequently, involved in the criminal justice system; resulting in a potentially cyclical pattern of substance use (Baillargeon et al, 2009).…”