bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adjustment to Prison of Women Convicted of Possession, Trafficking, and Nondrug Offenses
Authors: Loper Ann Booker
Published: March 2012

The present study investigates how female drug offenders adjust to their incarceration and whether there are detectable differences in the patterns of adjustment between women incarcerated for possession offenses, drug trafficking offenses, and nondrug offenses. Participants were 630 women incarcerated at a maximum security state prison who completed self-report adjustment measures. Results indicated that possession offenders reported less internal distress, lower levels of conflict, greater satisfaction with institutional conditions, and less of a tendency to view life in prison as worse than life outside than did women convicted of nondrug offenses. Possession offenders reported less internal distress and less conflict than did drug offenders incarcerated for trafficking offenses. Women convicted of possession offenses reported fewer mental illness symptoms than either the trafficking offenders or the nondrug offenders. Present results also confirmed that women of color are disproportionately represented within both drug offense groups.
Motivational Interviewing and Relapse Prevention for DWI: A Pilot Study
Authors: Stein L.A.R. , Lebeau-Craven Rebecca
Published: March 2012

Driving while impaired is a serious national health problem, and there is a need to develop effective treatments for persons arrested for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). Motivation for changing substance use behaviors may be critical for avoiding further infractions. Once motivated, the client may more readily develop skills that enhance efficacy to cope with situations leading to DWI. Motivational Interviewing (MI; Miller & Rollnick, 1991) was delivered to DWI-involved clients to enhance motivation to change. It was followed by Relapse Prevention (RP; Marlatt & Gordon, 1985) to develop coping skills. Clients rated MI/RP more favorably than standard care, evidenced improved coping skills, and showed general improvement at the end of the four-week treatment. This pilot study (N = 25) indicates that more well controlled clinical trials are warranted to study the effectiveness of MI/RP in treating persons engaged in DWI
Sexual Harassment, Generalized Workplace Abuse and Drinking Outcomes: The Role of Personality Vulnerability
Authors: Wislar Joseph S. , Richman Judith A. , Fendrich Michael , Flaherty Joseph A.
Published: March 2012

Interpersonal stressors, including workplace harassment and abuse, have been associated with deleterious drinking outcomes. Studies have also shown that the relationship between drinking and stress can be moderated by personality characteristics. This study examines the roles that neuroticism and narcissism play in the perception of sexual harassment and generalized workplace abuse. Utilizing data from a two-wave study of university employees, we found that respondents high on neuroticism and narcissism were significantly more likely to report abusive or harassing work environments at both waves of the study. However, significant associations between harassment or abuse and deleterious drinking outcomes remained after controlling for personality characteristics. The implications of these results are discussed.
Drug Dependence among Young Recently Initiated Injection Drug Users
Authors: Arria Amelia M. , Fuller Crystal , Strathdee Steffanie A. , Latkin Carl , Vlahov David
Published: March 2012

This study reports the prevalence of current drug dependence among 226 young recently initiated injection drug users (IDUs) (median age 25 years) recruited from community settings in Baltimore, Maryland. Dependence upon alcohol, cocaine, crack, and heroin was measured in relation to DSM-IV criteria derived from 10 questions from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) (Epstein & Gfroerer, 1997). The proportion of dependence among users for heroin, cocaine, crack, and alcohol was 91%, 42%, 37%, and 21%, respectively. Few significant associations were found between sociodemographic characteristics and drug dependence. Frequency of drug use was strongly associated with alcohol, cocaine, and crack dependence for both males and females; however, for heroin, the association between frequency and dependence was only statistically significant in males. The finding that a high proportion of the individuals in this study meet criteria for dependence underscores the need for appropriate and accessible drug treatment for young injection drug users.
Factors Associated with HIV Seroprevalence among Participants Enrolling at a Needle Exchange Program
Authors: Vertefeuille John , Strathdee Steffanie A. , Huettner Steven , Brown Michele , Vlahov David
Published: March 2012

The purpose of this study was to identify HIV risk factors associated with participants who were HIV seropositive at Needle Exchange Program (NEP) entry. A sample of injection drug users (IDUs) who enrolled in an NEP between 1994–1997 were recruited into a prospective study and tested for HIV antibodies. Demographic and recent drug use characteristics were collected. Logistic regression models were constructed to identify factors associated with HIV-seropositive status at NEP entry. Of 811 evaluation participants, 87% were African American, 67% were male, and 30% were HIV seropositive. The multivariate model indicated that daily cocaine injection (Adjusted OR (AOR)=1.98), daily speedball injection (AOR=2.36), daily heroin injection (AOR=0.55), cohabitation with someone (AOR=0.7), and employment (AOR=0.4) were all significantly associated with HIV seroprevalence at NEP entry (p<0.05). These findings indicate that HIV-seropositive individuals entering NEP practice particularly risky behaviors and are more likely to need help in order to minimize the harm of drugs and HIV infection than their HIV-seronegative counterparts.
Estimates of Potential Bias in Telephone Substance Abuse Surveys Due to Exclusion of Households without Telephones
Authors: McAuliffe William E. , LaBrie Richard , Woodworth Ryan , Zhang Caroline
Published: March 2012

This article reports estimates of the bias that may result in telephone substance abuse surveys because of the noncoverage of households without telephones. The study analyzed 1995–1998 data from the face-to-face National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Residents of households with telephones reported less drug use, less dependence on drugs and alcohol, but more alcohol use than residents of households without telephones. The resulting percentage differences between respondents with telephones and respondents in all households averaged one tenth of a percent (0.1%), and ratios of percentage estimates for all households to households with telephones averaged 1.04. The bias varied by substance, time frame, use versus dependence, and demographic characteristics. For example, use of marijuana ever had less bias than past year cocaine dependence. American Indians/Alaska Natives had the greatest amount of potential bias. For most populations and policy objectives, it may not be worth the added expense of conducting supplementary face-to-face interviews with residents of households without telephones in order to eliminate the bias.
Male Condom Use by Type of Relationship following an HIV Intervention among Women Who Use Illegal Drugs
Authors: Theall Katherine P. , Sterk Claire E. , Elifson Kirk W.
Published: March 2012

Predictors of increased male condom use are investigated following a recent, gender-specific HIV intervention among African-American women. Data were analyzed from 138 women (aged 18 to 59), recruited from inner-city Atlanta (Georgia, U.S.) neighborhoods. Predictors of condom use with steady and casual paying partners were examined separately. Increased condom use with steady partners was associated with drug-using status, intervention assignment, sexual relationship characteristics, age at first condom use, and HIV testing history. Condom use with casual paying partners was associated with having sex while high and the frequency of crack cocaine use. Personalized norms regarding condom use were not salient factors in predicting increased rates of condom use with either partner type. Findings indicate the continued need to consider sex in the context of drug use, and reveal the importance of measuring such influences and all antecedents of condom use separately for steady versus casual sexual relationships.
Patterns and Correlates of Substance Use among American Indians in Washington State
Authors: Akins Scott , Mosher Clayton , Rotolo Thomas , Griffin Robert
Published: March 2012

While there is fairly extensive literature examining the patterns and correlates of substance use across minority youth populations with a particular focus on comparisons between Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics, there has been comparatively little attention devoted to adults. Drawing on data derived from a household sample of close to 7,000 adults in Washington State, this paper provides multivariate analyses of the correlates of substance use across five racial/ethnic groups with a specific emphasis on American Indians. The analyses reveal that while American Indians have generally higher levels of substance use and abuse than those from other racial/ethnic groups, the differences are attenuated when socio-demographic and individual level/risk protective factors are taken into account.
Toward the Operationalization of Drug Market Stability: An Illustration Using Arrestee Data from Crack Cocaine Markets in Four Urban Communities
Authors: Taylor Bruce , Brownstein Henry H.
Published: March 2012

Despite the hypothesized link between the stability of drug markets and violence, drug market stability has yet to be operationally defined. Our aim in this paper is to demonstrate the need for reliable and valid measures of drug market stability and to test preliminary measures of market stability using existing data. Using calendar year 2000 data from interviews with 1,440 respondents from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program in four cities (Manhattan, Chicago, Portland, and San Diego), we illustrate that it is possible to operationally define the relative stability of these illegal markets. Capitalizing on the existence of comparable data collected from arrestee respondents in the same four cities in 1995, we illustrate how researchers might measure change in market stability over time and space. Our illustrations using these data suggest that drug market stability is not a simple and singular phenomenon, but rather a complex concept requiring multiple measures to elucidate.
Sex Exchange and HIV-related Risk Behaviors among Female Heroin Users in China
Authors: Wang Quanyi , Lin Ge
Published: March 2012

This study examines differences in demographic characteristics and HIV-related risk behaviors between Chinese female heroin users who exchanged sex for drugs or money and those who were never involved in sex exchange. A sample of 171 female heroin users was recruited from a detoxification center in China. Female heroin users who exchanged sex for drugs or money were more likely to be unemployed and were at higher risk in both sexual behaviors and injection drug use. Number of sexual partners in the previous year, unemployment, and injection drug use were independently associated with exchange of sex for drugs or money; adjusted odds ratios were 1.2, 3.8, and 2.6, respectively. Findings show that HIV-related risk behaviors are common among female heroin users in China and that HIV harm reduction should be focused on female heroin users who exchange sex for drugs or money.
Drug Control Policy and Smuggling Innovation: A Game-Theoretic Analysis
Authors: Krebs Christopher P. , Costelloe Michael , Jenks David
Published: March 2012

Noncooperative game theory has been proposed as a research tool to be used in the study of criminal decision-making processes. Despite this offering, game theory has enjoyed very little attention from criminologists. In this study, game theory is applied to a specific crime, drug smuggling, in order to determine if fluctuations in key policy variables have the potential to diminish the expected utility of smuggling drugs, thus encouraging lawful behavior. The simulation proposed herein indicates that decreasing the expected utility of smuggling drugs to a level where lawful behavior is likely to be chosen is an infeasible mission from a policy perspective. Additionally, a recent drug smuggling innovation, known as “black powder,” is likely to only increase the expected utility of smuggling drugs. Black powder is a simple industrial cloaking method that renders many surveillance strategies and chemical tests futile. The consequences of black powder and the exchange between drug control agents and drug smugglers are discussed.
The Deterrence Hypothesis Reexamined: Sports Participation and Substance Use among Young Adults
Authors: Eitle David , Turner R. Jay , Eitle Tamela McNulty
Published: March 2012

The widely held notion that sports participation reduces subsequent risk of substance use is evaluated with longitudinal data of a representative sample of youth when they were in their preteen and young adult years. Unlike previous inquiries into the deterrence hypothesis, the present study controls for other major factors previously found to be predictive of alcohol and drug use. Results of analyses revealed that contrary to the deterrence hypothesis, playing high school sports does not appear to be a protective factor that lowers one's involvement in young adult alcohol or drug use – with one exception. Subgroup analyses revealed that among blacks, the greater the extent of high school sports participation the less the risk of substance use. In direct contradiction to the deterrence hypothesis, playing high school sports was found to be positively associated with alcohol use for whites, even in the context of other major predictors of alcohol use. Further analyses revealed that the positive association between sports participation and alcohol use appeared to exist only for white males. The implications of these results are discussed.
The Effectiveness of Early Parole to Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities on 24-Month Criminal Recidivism
Authors: Zanis David A. , Mulvaney Frank , Coviello Donna , Alterman Arthur I. , Savitz Barry , Thompson William
Published: March 2012

This naturalistic study involved 569 offenders who had a history of substance abuse or dependence prior to incarceration, and were subsequently approved for early parole to a community-based substance abuse treatment facility (SATF). Overall 495 offenders were paroled directly to a SATF while 74 were paroled to the community without transfer to a SATF due to prison overcrowding. Criminal history records for all 569 offenders were obtained approximately 24 months following parole. Any new conviction as a result of a new crime committed during the 24-month window following parole to the community was considered a negative outcome. Results found that 22% of offenders paroled to a substance abuse treatment facility (SATF) were convicted of a new crime compared to 34% of offenders paroled directly to the community (chi-square = 4.57, df=1, p=.03). A stepwise logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine how different factors contributed to a new conviction. Overall more prior convictions (p<.001) and lower age (p=.001) were strong significant predictors and cocaine dependence (p=.06) and parole without treatment (p=.08) were predictive of a new conviction. Additionally, offenders who completed treatment were significantly less likely to be convicted of a new crime (11.8% vs. 29%) than those who dropped out of treatment (chi-square = 11.50, df = 1, p<.01). These data suggest that early parole to a SATF could be considered as a viable means to reduce prison sentences for addicted offenders.
An Application of Social Conflict Theory to Arrestees' Use of Cocaine and Opiates
Authors: Lo Celia C.
Published: March 2012

The present study used data from the 1991 and 1992 Drug Use Forecasting projects and the 1990 census data to test the hypothesis that certain “structural disadvantage factors” identified by social conflict theory (Goode, 1997, 1999) contribute to explaining arrestees' use of cocaine and/or opiates. Using hierarchical nonlinear modeling techniques, this study explored whether social-control factors and demographic factors were effective predictors of arrestees' drug use. It also questioned whether the effects of such factors on drug use varied with the degree of structural disadvantage of the arrestees' residential districts. Overall, the study resulted in support for a link between a group of hard-drug users and contextual factors of structural disadvantage.
Where are the Children? An Examination of Children's Living Arrangements When Mothers Enter Residential Drug Treatment
Authors: Knight Danica Kalling , Wallace Gail
Published: March 2012

Although providing child care and family residency options has become central to substance abuse treatment for women with dependent children, research documenting status of child coresidence prior to, during, and following treatment is currently unavailable. The purpose of this study is to examine the degree to which mothers are successful in maintaining or reestablishing their role as parents during the course of treatment. The sample included 152 female clients admitted to a residential drug treatment program for women with dependent children. Findings document an increase in child coresidency from admission to follow-up. Women who entered treatment with all children or who were reunited with children previously in others' care at admission were over five times more likely to coreside with all children at follow-up. At follow-up, mothers who reported complete coresidence were more likely to be 30 years old or younger, live independently, and have fewer than two parenting challenges.
Evaluating a Prison-Based Drug Treatment Program in Taiwan
Authors: Vaughn Michael S. , Deng Furjen , Lee Lou-Jou
Published: March 2012

Using data collected from prerelease and 12-month follow-up interviews with drug-using offenders, this article evaluates the efficacy of the first prison-based drug treatment program in Taiwan. A quasi-experimental design matching drug-abusing offenders into treatment and nontreatment groups was adopted. Program outcomes were measured in five domains: criminal recidivism, post-release drug use patterns, improved family and social relationships, problems adjusting to community life, and mental health after release. Logistic and OLS regression were employed to identify possible correlates of program outcomes. The results generally failed to confirm positive outcomes generated by the compulsory drug treatment program. Program participants reported higher rates of recidivism and post-release illicit drug use than nonprogram participants. Program participants also reported more problems adjusting to community life after release. Post-release living arrangements, friends or family members abusing illicit drugs, and problems adjusting to community life after release were also found to be significant correlates of recidivism and post-treatment drug use. Post-release employment status and mental health status were significantly related to post-treatment drug use, but not to recidivism. Since multiple factors lead to drug addiction, the article concludes that the structure and implementation of Taiwan's prison-based drug treatment program needs reform to effect positive behavioral change on drug-abusing offenders.
The Effects of Drug Treatment and Supervision on Time to Rearrest among Drug Treatment Court Participants
Authors: Banks Duren , Gottfredson Denise C.
Published: March 2012

Past research has generally shown that drug courts are reaching their target offenders and that program participants are rearrested at a lower or equivalent rate than comparison offenders. Few analyses have been conducted to test the relative effects of different drug court elements, however. The current research takes a closer look at the two main components of the drug court, supervision and treatment, to determine whether one is more effective at preventing failure, or whether the combination of both is necessary to observe a decreased risk of failure. Attending treatment significantly decreased the risk of failure over a two-year follow-up period, while receiving supervision did not. Offenders who received both supervision and treatment had the longest survival times, but not significantly longer than those who received treatment only. Implications for drug courts in general are discussed, as well as avenues for future research in this field.
An Exploratory Study of Contextual and Situational Factors Related to Methamphetamine Use among Gay and Bisexual Men in New York City
Authors: Halkitis Perry N. , Parsons Jeffrey T. , Wilton Leo
Published: March 2012

This exploratory investigation describes methamphetamine use among a convenience sample of gay and bisexual men in New York City. A total of 49 participants reported using methamphetamine, on average, 12 days over the past three months, and 63.1% of the participants reported use with the majority of their sexual encounters. Poly-substance use was high in this sample of methamphetamine users. Methamphetamine use was more frequent among those men who reported using the drug in bathhouses and bars, and frequency of use was associated with a need to escape unpleasant emotions and physical discomfort, avoid social conflict, and enjoy pleasant times with others. The data suggest a contextual understanding of methamphetamine use in New York City that is similar to that of gay communities of the western United States.
Limited Rationality and the Limits of Supply Reduction
Authors: Caulkins Jonathan P. , MacCoun Robert
Published: March 2012

Drug markets have been targeted for increasingly tough enforcement, yet retail prices for cocaine and heroin have fallen by 70–80%. No research has explained adequately why prices have fallen. This paper explores the possibility that part of the explanation may lie in the failure of drug dealers to respond to risks the way the simplest rational actor models might predict.
Transitions from Treatment to Work: Employment Patterns following Publicly Funded Substance Abuse Treatment
Authors: Ginexi Elizabeth M. , Foss Mark A. , Scott Christy K.
Published: March 2012

This investigation involved a first-attempt at modeling long-term treatment and work trajectories in a large, urban sample of individuals in publicly funded substance abuse treatment: (a) determining the demographic factors that predicted work patterns and (b) examining the longitudinal relationship between work status and continued treatment, persistent drug use, and psychological problems investigated work status across three years. Mixed-effects regression models revealed that significantly more participants were working and looking for work at each follow-up. Gains in labor force participation were greatest at six months while gains in employment were greatest at 24 months. Several demographic variables predicted later work status including age, gender, living arrangement, occupational skills, and having children in foster care. Participants who continued treatment, continued to use drugs, or reported psychological problems were most likely to be out of the labor force. By far, the greatest barrier to long-term employment was continued drug use.
Research Note: Acceptability and Utility of a Hand-Held Syringe Disposal Device for Active Injection Drug Users
Authors: Macalino Grace E. , Weston Rachel S. , Wolf Francis A. , Sanford-Colby Stephanie L. , McKenzie Michelle M. , Rich Josiah D.
Published: March 2012

Efforts to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis among injection drug users (IDUs) by improving access to sterile syringes can raise questions about syringe disposal. This study sought to evaluate the acceptability and utility of the Voyager, a newly approved, hand-held syringe disposal device for active injection drug users (IDUs). We offered the Voyager to active IDUs (n = 97), and interviewed them upon receiving the device and one month later. Almost all (90%) accepted the device. At follow-up, 78% had used the Voyager and 44% reported using it all the time; 65% reported they would like to continue using the Voyager and 77% rated the device “somewhat better” or “much better” than other methods of syringe disposal. Many IDUs care about safe syringe disposal and are willing and able to use a convenient disposal device such as the Voyager. Communities concerned about needlestick injuries and re-use of contaminated syringes should explore increasing the availability of such a device for IDUs as part of an overall approach to prevent improperly discarded syringes.
Supervised Injection Facilities and International Law
Authors: Malkin Ian , Elliott Richard , McRae Rowan
Published: March 2012

The ongoing public health crisis associated with injection drug use highlights the failure of prohibitionist policies. In contrast, harm reduction approaches aim to protect and promote the health of drug users. Supervised injection facilities (SIFs) are one important component of this approach. This article considers the international legal implications of establishing SIFs. It argues that implementing trials of SIFs is an appropriate measure that states should take pursuant to their international legal obligations to realize progressively the right of their nationals to the highest attainable standard of health. It argues that international drug control treaties do not prevent such measures, as is commonly claimed. The authors conclude that successful trials in Europe and Australia should be emulated elsewhere, in accordance with states' international obligations.
Responding to an Explosive HIV Epidemic Driven by Frequent Cocaine Injection: Is There a Role for Safe Injecting Facilities?
Authors: Kerr Thomas , Wood Evan , Palepu Anita , Wilson Dean , Schechter Martin T. , Tyndall Mark W.
Published: March 2012

Although there have been repeated calls for the establishment of safe injection facilities (SIFs) in Vancouver since the early 1990s, questions remain concerning the feasibility of SIFs due to the high prevalence of injection cocaine and the concomitant problems cocaine use presents. Therefore, we determined the prevalence of willingness to attend SIFs among cocaine injectors in Vancouver and explored the factors associated with this willingness, using data from the Vancouver Injection Drug Users Study. After considering the results derived from this analysis, additional qualitative methods were employed to explore further willingness to use SIFs, barriers and facilitators of SIF utilization, and methods of maximizing use among selected subpopulations of cocaine injectors. The results suggest that a high proportion of cocaine injectors, including some of those most at risk, would attend an SIF if one were available. However, in order to better accommodate cocaine injectors, several modifications could be made to conventional SIF service design and delivery. The vast majority of these modifications relate to ensuring effective responses to cocaine toxicity. Given the acceptability of SIFs among cocaine injectors, it appears that an SIF pilot could result in significant and immediate benefits in terms of public health and community safety.
The Role of Civil Disobedience in Drug Policy Reform: How an Illegal Safer Injection Room Led to a Sanctioned, ‘Medically Supervised Injection Center
Authors: Wodak Alex , Symonds Ann , Richmond Ray
Published: March 2012

In shooting galleries, drug users are able to illegally rent cubicles to inject drugs. Established in Kings Cross, Sydney in the early 1990s, police grudgingly tolerated several such galleries. In 1997, a royal commission recommended that a parliamentary inquiry consider establishing an official medically supervised injecting center (MSIC). Despite strong evidence supporting an MSIC, a majority of the committee voted against a trial facility. As an act of civil disobedience, a group of concerned citizens established an unsanctioned MSIC. However, police soon closed the facility. At a subsequent parliamentary drug summit, delegates voted to support an official trial of an MSIC and invited a congregation of Roman Catholic nuns to establish the facility. When the nuns were instructed to withdraw, the Uniting Church was invited to establish the project. The MSIC opened in May 2001. It can be concluded that public health practitioners wishing to improve appalling outcomes from drug policies sometimes have to resort to civil disobedience in order to achieve their goals.
Barcelona's Safer Injection Facility-EVA: A Harm Reduction Program Lacking Official Support
Authors: Anoro Manel , Ilundain Enrique , Santisteban Oscar
Published: March 2012

EVA – Espacio de Venopunción higiénica Asistida – is the first safe injection facility (SIF) in Barcelona, Spain. Started on September 12, 2001, it began as a “poor relative” of DAVE –Dispositivo Asistencial de Venopunción – in Madrid. EVA suffers from the general underfunding of its parent program, the Can Tunis outreach program, and it has no formal or material support from municipal authorities. This SIF can accommodate five drug injectors at one time and also operates as a mobile room for shelter, contact, and health education, addressing mainly those drug users who are at highest risk of overdose, HIV infection, violence, and death. The project offers consistent services provided by an array of health care and welfare professionals, and it is ready to intervene in overdose and/or crisis situations. To date, it has an excellent record in providing a safe environment for both its staff of health care professionals and its clients. Below the Can Tunis area in general, the outreach program, and EVA are described. The advantages, disadvantages, and what has been learned from working in this quarter of Barcelona with the injection drug using community is discussed. In closing, questions and proposals for future efforts are addressed.
Ascertaining the Need for a Supervised Injecting Facility (SIF): The Burden of Public Injecting in Montreal, Canada
Authors: Green Traci , Hankins Catherine , Palmer Darlène , Boivin Jean-François , Platt Robert
Published: March 2012

Empirical evidence suggests that a key prerequisite for a supervised injection facility (SIF) utilization is the existence of an “open drug scene,” where users publicly inject drugs. This study seeks to determine the extent and profile of public injecting among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Montreal, Canada, where pilot SIFs are under consideration. A cross-sectional study of IDUs who injected publicly at least once in the previous month was appended to an HIV-risk surveillance study among Montreal IDUs (SurvUDI study). Of 650 SurvUDI participants interviewed between June 2001 and February 2002, 59% were eligible. A dose-response relationship emerged between intensity of public injecting and several drug-use and risk-related characteristics. Regardless of housing stability, IDUs persistently and, often preferably, publicly injected due to habit, dependence, or need to conceal their status. Despite lacking a classical open drug scene, public injecting is common among Montreal IDUs, warranting the consideration of an SIF for this population.
Safer Injection Sites in New York City: A Utilization Survey of Injection Drug Users
Authors: Broadhead Robert S. , Borch Casey A. , van Hulst Yael , Farrell Jason , Villemez Wayne J. , Altice Frederick L.
Published: March 2012

HIV, hepatitis B & C, drug overdose, and other drug-related health problems still pose significant health risks to injection drug users (IDUs) and their sexual partners, indicating the need for further development of innovative public health interventions. A relatively new intervention implemented in many municipalities throughout the world is the “safer injection site” (SIS). An SIS is a legal facility that allows people to prepare and inject pre-obtained drugs in a hygienic, anxiety-free atmosphere under the supervision of health personnel. This paper examines the responses of a sample of IDUs in New York City to whether they would use an SIS should one be implemented in mid-town Manhattan. The SIS would be part of a comprehensive harm reduction project that already offers needle-exchange, street outreach, testing and counseling, support groups, referral services including drug treatment, and on-site primary medical and dental services. The results of our study indicate that a large majority of the IDUs sampled would utilize an SIS should one be implemented, and that those most likely to use it are IDUs at the highest risk for contracting or spreading blood-borne diseases such as HIV and hepatitis, and for experiencing a drug overdose.
Shooting Gallery Users and HIV Risk
Authors: Klein Hugh , Levy Judith A.
Published: March 2012

Recognizing that HIV transmission occurs within situated interactions between two or more people, prevention research has increasingly begun to focus on identifying the influence of situations and settings on the spread of HIV. Examination of the social geography of risk has emerged as a powerful tool for understanding where and among whom risky practices occur. In this regard, shooting galleries represent interactional territories where the normative expectations of participation within their spatial boundaries can both encourage and reinforce sex- and drug-related risky behavior. Indeed, research shows that those who inject in shooting galleries tend to be at a higher risk of transmitting HIV than those who inject elsewhere. Drawing upon data from a sample of 1,113 active injecting drug users, we examined the demographic and psychosocial factors that predict shooting gallery use. Next, we compared shooting gallery users with nonusers in terms of drug use, followed by an examination of differences in sex- and drug-related HIV risk behaviors. Then, we explored preventive practices that possibly differentiate those who use shooting galleries from those who do not. We end our analysis by discussing the implications of our results for HIV prevention and social policy.
Adolescents' and Young Adults' Perspectives on a Continuum of Care in a Three Year Drug Treatment Program
Authors: Duroy Tanya Hedges , Schmidt Sarah L. , Perry Patricia D.
Published: March 2012

Recent discussion in the adolescent treatment community has centered on the therapeutic merits of continuum of care treatment for adolescent and young adult substance abusing populations. However, despite this discussion, few studies to date have actually looked at how adolescents and young adults view continuum of care treatment in practice. In this paper a continuum of care offered within a single treatment approach will be addressed from the perspectives of youths participating in treatment at a three year step-down therapeutic community program with four distinct levels of care: residential treatment, intensive day treatment, day treatment with work/school release, and ambulatory meetings. Adolescents and young adults attending this program must complete all four levels of care before they are eligible for program graduation. Data from 53 qualitative semistructured and open-ended interviews (conducted with 45 adolescents and young adults) indicate that treatment experiences were marked by significant program transition points, during which clients stepped down from one level of care to another. Adolescents and young adults reported experiencing distress at and during these transition points. However, they also indicated that overall emotional and psychological stress was minimized due to the following: (1) these transitions were experienced within a single program structure, (2) youths transitioned through a continuum of care with program peers and friends, and (3) the program staff was perceived by adolescents and young adults to be compassionate and encouraging.
Prediction of the Criminal Activity of Incarcerated Drug-Abusing Offenders
Authors: Kinlock Timothy W. , O'Grady Kevin E. , Hanlon Thomas E.
Published: March 2012

This study examined self-report information from a structured interview on the drug use, employment status, drug distribution income, and criminal behavior of 188 drug-abusing offenders in the six months prior to the commission of the offense for which they were incarcerated. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which drug use and income-producing activity was related to the variety, frequency, and severity of criminal behavior during this six-month period. Results revealed that the major predictors of a greater variety of crime were male gender, fewer months employed, and a larger number of different drugs used; the major predictors of a greater frequency of crime were fewer months employed and greater cocaine use and drug distribution income; and the major predictors of a greater severity of crime were younger age and male gender. Interestingly, the use of marijuana in cases that did not involve opioid use was related to the commission of more violent crimes. Subsequent examination of this result revealed that violent activity was associated with the relatively high drug distribution income for those marijuana users who did not use opioids or cocaine. Implications of this and other findings for corrections planning and public policy are discussed.
Longitudinal Patterns of Treatment Utilization and Outcomes among Methamphetamine Abusers: A Growth Curve Modeling Approach
Authors: Hser Yih-Ing , Huang David , Chou Chih-Ping , Teruya Cheryl , Anglin M. Douglas
Published: March 2012

The present study examined a sample of 205 amphetamine and methamphetamine (A/M) abusers in drug treatment programs across Los Angeles County. Data were collected during face-to-face interviews using a natural history interview instrument. We applied a series of growth curve models to investigate treatment effects on A/M use and criminal involvement during a 36-month period (24 months before and 12 months after the referent treatment admission). The modeling results showed strong concurrent treatment effects in reducing A/M use and criminal involvement (e.g., being in treatment was associated, on average, with a decrease of 4.65 to 5.14 days of A/M use per month and of 1.74 crimes per month). A longer length of cumulative time in treatment (either within single episodes or across multiple episodes) was associated with a lower level of A/M use during the initial month of the 36-month period and with a slower rate of decreased use in subsequent months. Cumulative treatment was not associated with trajectories of the criminal measures. The study findings provide some support for treatment effectiveness in decreasing A/M use among A/M abusers treated in community treatment programs. Longitudinal models allow opportunities to reveal the dynamic relationships between treatment and outcome.
Towards an HIV Role Theory: Drug-related Peer Beliefs and Role Strain Indicators as Predictors of Injection Risk Behaviors among Puerto Rican Injection Drug Users in New York and Puerto Rico
Authors: Andía Jonny F. , Deren Sherry , Friedman Samuel R. , Winick Charles , Kang Sung-Yeon , Palij Michael , Robles Rafaela R. , Colón Hector M. , Oliver-Velez Denise , Finlinson Ann
Published: March 2012

This study assesses whether injection risk behaviors (e.g., syringe sharing and sharing injection paraphernalia) can be understood using a model that highlights drug related peer beliefs and role strain/deprivation. Data were collected on 561 Puerto Rican injection drug users in New York and 313 in Puerto Rico. A drug peer beliefs scale and three indicators of role strain were used with other control variables in a hierarchical multiple logistic regression model. Both aspects of the model were significant predictors of HIV risk behaviors in New York, but only role strain was a significant predictor for injection drug users (IDUs) in Puerto Rico. Individual-based paradigms should incorporate peer beliefs and role strain/deprivation in order to reduce HIV risk behaviors.
The Prevalence of Methamphetamine and other Drug Use during Pregnancy in Hawaii
Authors: Derauf Chris , Katz Alan R. , Frank Deborah A. , Grandinetti Andrew , Easa David
Published: March 2012

Methamphetamine abuse is epidemic in Hawaii, but the extent of use among pregnant women is unknown. We sought to define the prevalence of use during pregnancy. We conducted a cross-sectional study of consecutive births between November and December 1999, and determined that the prevalence of drug metabolites in meconium were fatty acid ethyl esters: 72 (17.1%); cotinine: 33 (7.7%); opiates: 4 (0.9%); delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinal: 1 (0.2%); and methamphetamine: 3 (0.7%). Including three positives discovered solely through forensic testing, the overall prevalence of methamphetamine exposure during pregnancy was 1.4% (6/443). The prevalence of methamphetamine was low compared to the prevalence of fatty acid ethyl esters, reportedly indicative of ethanol exposure, and cotinine, a tobacco metabolite. In Hawaii, more attention should be directed towards alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy.
“Bad” Neighborhoods, Fast Food, “Sleazy” Businesses, and Drug Dealers: Relations between the Location of Licit and Illicit Businesses in the Urban Environment
Authors: Ford Julie M. , Beveridge Andrew A.
Published: March 2012

This study explores the demographic and ecological characteristics of urban neighborhoods according to variations in their levels of visible drug sales. In addition to standard socio-demographic measures, extensive data on a number of licit businesses located in different neighborhoods are also included. These range from those that residents are likely to consider desirable (e.g., bookstores) to those they are likely to consider undesirable (e.g., massage parlors). It is suggested that an elaboration of the concept of collective efficacy may be useful in understanding the relation between business location and public drug dealing. Specifically, we propose that collective efficacy can be understood not only in terms of neighborhood residents' capacity to resist the incursion of factors perceived as threatening, but also their capacity to attract those perceived as potentially enhancing the quality of life. The results indicate that the neighborhoods most burdened by visible drug markets are distinctive not so much by virtue of the undesirable licit businesses that they contain, but by the dearth of desirable ones. This suggests not only that neighborhoods with higher levels of visible drug sales lack the type of collective efficacy that would enable residents to keep out criminal activity, but they also appear to lack the ability to draw in desirable businesses.
Prenatal Cocaine Exposure: An Examination of Out-of-home Placement during the First Year of Life
Authors: Wobie Kathleen , Eyler Fonda Davis , Garvan Cynthia Wilson , Hou Wei , Behnke Marylou
Published: March 2012

In a longitudinal, prospective study, three groups of infants were defined by placement status through age one: cocaine-exposed infants in out-of-home placement (n=66), cocaine-exposed infants who remained with their biological mother (n=79), and matched (race, socioeconomic status, parity, birth risk) noncocaine-exposed infants who remained with their biological mother (n=141). Of this predominantly African-American, low socioeconomic status, multiparous cohort, 46% of the women who used cocaine prenatally had infants in out-of-home placement at some time during the first year of life. The odds ratio for losing/relinquishing custody, for weeks of cocaine use during pregnancy was 6.0 (1.6, 22.0; 95% CI). More positive life experiences and higher education significantly improved the potential of retaining custody. Depression had a small but significant negative effect on the possibility of maintaining custody. The prenatal and post-partum period is an important time to provide services that encourage substance abuse recovery and associated factors of stability that facilitate an intact mother-infant dyad.
California's Incarcerated Drug Offender Population, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: Evaluating the War on Drugs and Proposition 36
Authors: Auerhahn Kathleen
Published: March 2012

Since 1980, the populations of state and federal prisons have more than quadrupled. This has in large part been attributed to increased law enforcement in the wake of the War on Drugs. Data-validated simulation modeling is used to examine the compositional dynamics of the drug offender population incarcerated in California prisons over the period 1980–1998, as well as to prospectively evaluate the impact of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000 (the Act), which prohibits incarceration and mandates treatment for first-time nonviolent offenders convicted of simple drug possession. The analyses show that the drug offender population changed in significant ways from 1980 to 1998. The prospective analyses indicate that the Act will have some impacts on the composition of the incarcerated drug offender population that are consistent with the objective of selective incapacitation of dangerous offenders, but will not reduce the proportion of prison space overall devoted to housing drug offenders.
The Management of Workplace Deviance: Organizational Responses to Employee Drug Use
Authors: Knudsen Hannah K. , Roman Paul M. , Johnson J. Aaron
Published: March 2012

Although research has explored the diffusion of drug testing as a management technique, little attention has been paid to how organizations manage employees who fail drug tests. Organizations can choose a strategy that externalizes or internalizes the drug-positive employee. Furthermore, those organizations that internalize drug-positive employees may respond in a rehabilitative or punitive manner. This paper explores the variation in organizational responses to positive drug tests by considering industrial sector, organizational structure, and culture. Using data from the 1997 National Employee Survey, multinomial logistic regression results indicate significant differences in organizational responses to positive drug tests based on the industrial sector, unionization, the provision of employee assistance program services, establishment size, and formalization.
Interventions on the Supply Side of the Local Hard Drug Market: Towards a Regulated Hard Drug Trade? the Case of the City of Rotterdam
Authors: van de Mheen Dike , Gruter Paul
Published: March 2012

The aim of interventions on the supply side of the hard drug market is to diminish or regulate the unwanted effects of the hard drug trade, with respect to both public health and safety. However, initiatives for the regulation of the hard drug trade cannot be pursued at the international governmental level because the sale of hard drugs is forbidden by law. Therefore, what remains are initiatives at the local level. In a case study of the City of Rotterdam, an inventory is made of interventions on the supply side. It describes interventions initiated by both governmental and private organizations, including the closure of certain dealing addresses, public transport and other general regulations, reporting centers for drug-related nuisance (i.e., local government), and “self-regulation” of dealing addresses and drug consumption/selling rooms (i.e., private interventions). The argument here is for a different approach of (dosed) suppression and regulation (by public and private interventions). In this approach, the use of “quality criteria” for dealing addresses and the spread of dealing addresses are important instruments.