Prevalence and correlates of in-prison substance use among incarcerated women in Spain

Abstract

Previous research indicates that drug use is common among incarcerated populations. However, much less research attention has been focused on drug use among female inmates, especially while in prison. The goal of this research was to examine the prevalence and correlates of in-prison drug use among women prisoners. Data were drawn from a random sample of women incarcerated in four regions of Spain in 2014. Self-report assessments of alcohol and drug use were collected. Descriptive analyses and logistic regression models were employed to examine relationships in the data. Overall, the results revealed a high prevalence of substance use while in prison. More than half of study participants (52%) reported using drugs in prison within the past 6 months, with alcohol (33.8%) and cannabis (28.2%) the most commonly reported drugs used. Logistic regression models indicated that age and prior drug use history were significantly associated with in-prison substance use. Notably, criminal history was not a significant predictor of in-prison substance use. Our findings suggest that substance use while in prison may represent a barrier to these women's rehabilitative goals. Study findings are discussed in terms of developing effective drug treatment programs for women prisoners in the Spanish Prison System.

Risco para doenças cardiovasculares em mulheres detentas

“…O atual estudo é pioneiro no sentido de avaliar o estado nutricional e os fatores de risco cardiovascular de prisioneiras em regime fechado no estado. Poucos trabalhos foram relatados, na literatura, que tenham como público-alvo detentas (19)(20)(21)(22)(23) .…”

Alcohol, otras Drogas y Salud Mental en Población Femenina Penitenciaria

“…Variables demográficas y penitenciarias. Adaptadas de una investigación previa (Sánchez et al, 2018), se recogió información relevante sobre la edad (variable continua), nacionalidad (española o extranjera), estado civil (casada o con pareja y divorciada, soltera o viuda), nivel educativo alcanzado (inferior a Educación Secundaria y Educación Secundaria o superior), situación laboral previa a prisión (trabajando y desempleada o jubilada), reincidencia penitenciaria (delincuente primario o reincidente) y si se encontraba trabajando y/o estudiando actualmente en prisión ("sí" o "no").…”

“…En esta línea, investigaciones empíricas recientes llevadas a cabo en Estados Unidos (Mir et al 2015;Proctor, 2012), Europa (Boys et al, 2002;Sánchez, Fearn y Vaughn, 2018) y América del Sur (Baltieri, 2014) han revelado una gran incidencia del consumo alcohol y otras drogas en el colectivo femenino privado de libertad, oscilando aproximadamente entre un 20% y un 60%. Según Fickenscher, Lapidus, Silk-Walker y Becker (2001), más de la mitad de las mujeres en prisión tenían un problema de dependencia de consumo de alcohol y otras drogas previamente a prisión.…”

Alcohol use disorder among prisoners in Debre Berhan prison, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

“…Compared to the general population alcohol use was reported to be twice as common in prisoners [20]. The prevalence of any substance use among prison populations ranged from as low as 20.1% to as high as 95.5% [18,[21][22][23][24]. Prevalence ranging from 10.7 to 70.0% was reported for alcohol use disorder (AUD) [13,[17][18][19][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28].…”

“…The prevalence of any substance use among prison populations ranged from as low as 20.1% to as high as 95.5% [18,[21][22][23][24]. Prevalence ranging from 10.7 to 70.0% was reported for alcohol use disorder (AUD) [13,[17][18][19][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. A systematic review of studies from the United Kingdom reported that 13 to 86% of prisoners at a different stage of imprisonment (remanded and sentenced) had alcohol dependence or AUD [29].…”