Trends in Substance Abuse and Treatment Needs Among Inmates in the United States, 1996-1997 (ICPSR 3714)

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Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose

Substance abuse and the enforcement of anti-drug laws have fundamentally affected the growth of America's prisons and jails over the past 20 years and the types of inmates they house. Research has documented the connections between the use of illegal drugs and the abuse of alcohol and crime. It has been shown that (1) a substantial proportion of inmates incarcerated for violent crimes are substance-involved, (2) the majority of inmates serving time for property offenses are involved with drugs and alcohol, and (3) prison and jail inmates have a substantially higher prevalence of drug use and higher rates of drinking than the general population. This study sought to present a comprehensive analysis of the substance use patterns of inmates and the relationship between substance abuse and the growth in the inmate population. Moreover, using data from two national surveys on jail and prison inmates (SURVEY OF INMATES OF LOCAL JAILS, 1996: [UNITED STATES] [ICPSR 6858] and SURVEY OF INMATES IN STATE AND FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES, 1997 [ICPSR 2598], respectively), this study sought to expand the analyses of these data in order to fully explore the relationship between type and intensity of substance abuse and other health and social problems, analyze access to treatment and services, and make estimates of the need for different types of treatment services in correctional systems.

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This data collection consists of the SPSS syntax used to recode existing variables and create new variables from the SURVEY OF INMATES OF LOCAL JAILS, 1996 (Part 1) and the SURVEY OF INMATES IN STATE AND FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES, 1997 (Part 2). The SURVEY OF INMATES OF LOCAL JAILS, sponsored by the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, is collected every six years and provides nationally representative data on persons held prior to trial and on convicted offenders serving sentences in local jails or awaiting transfer to state prisons. Data cover demographic characteristics of jail inmates (sex, race, ethnicity, Hispanic origin, employment), current offenses and sentences, detention status, trial, bail, characteristics of victims, criminal histories, incident characteristics, socioeconomic circumstances, jail conditions and activities, and prior drug and alcohol use and treatment. The SURVEY OF INMATES IN STATE AND FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES, conducted every five years, is designed by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and administered by the Bureau of the Census as part of a series of data-gathering efforts undertaken to assist policymakers in assessing and remedying deficiencies in the nation's correctional institutions. This survey is used to gather nationally representative data on state prison inmates and sentenced federal inmates held in federally owned and operated facilities. Through personal interviews, inmates in both state and federal prisons provide information about their current offense and sentence, criminal history, family background and personal characteristics, prior drug and alcohol use and treatment programs, gun possession and use, gang membership, and prison activities, programs, and services. Other variables include age, ethnicity, education, lifetime drug use, drinking pattern prior to arrest, prior incarceration record, and pre-arrest annual income.

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Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables

New variables that can be created using the Part 1 and Part 2 syntax include typologies of drug and alcohol offender (e.g., substance-involved offender, regular drug users, non-using drug law violators, alcohol-involved offenders, drug experimenters, and non-drug users), whether first through fifth offenses were drug law violations, treatment experiences (e.g., whether attended alcohol or drug programs while under correctional supervision, while incarcerated, or while on parole), treatment recommendations (e.g., residential drug treatment, outpatient drug treatment, or short-term intervention), whether an offender had psychiatric problems, educational needs, whether family members ever served time in prison, income (illegal and otherwise) before offense, employment status prior to arrest, number of minor children, whether an offender was physically or sexually abused or raped, the amount of money offender spent on drugs (barbiturates, methaqualon, tranquilizers, methamphetamines, crack, cocaine, heroin, PCP, LSD, inhalants, and other unspecified drugs), whether these drugs were used in the month before or at the time of offense, how often the drugs were used (daily or weekly), age when first used drugs, and whether offender was HIV-positive.

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2003-06-05

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