Substance Abuse and Crime: A Review of Literature

The assignment discusses the relationship between substance abuse and crime, citing several studies that examine the links between criminal behavior, mental health, and substance use among high school dropouts, prisoners, and drug offenders. The studies highlight the importance of screening for substance dependence and abuse in prisons and providing effective treatment and supervision to prevent recidivism.

Running head: SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND CRIME
LITERATURE REVIEW
SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND CRIME
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SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND CRIME
Literature Review
In a study conducted by Maynard (2015), the researcher assessed the spread of criminal
behavior, mental health and substance use in dropouts resulting from a sample taken from the
nation of 18 years to 25 years (Total respondents=19312) evolving adults in U.S. the researcher
has employed various logistic regression making adjustment to multifaceted survey sampling and
made comparison of graduates with high school dropouts related to criminal behavior, mental
health and substance use. The findings from this study give significant insight as well as initial
portrait of epidemiology of criminal attitude of dropouts, substance use and mental health at the
time of developing adulthood.
In a research conducted by Gottfredson (2008), the link between crime and substance use by
modelling the variation in subjects for more than 11 months of period with a total sample of
nearly 157 offenders who use chronic drug. Also this study examined consequence of treatment
of drug in past few months over crime that generated the income, bit not over the violent crime
as well as the consequence of treating the drug addiction over the crime that generates significant
income is arbitrated by reducing the use of drugs. Tis work modifies the prior working by
demonstrating that effect of usage of drug differentiates by the type of crime and by giving
further proof that treatment of drug lowers the use of heroin and cocaine that may help in
lowering the property crime.
In another study conducted by Fazel (2006), the researcher aimed to review the research of
occurrence of substance dependence and abuse in prisoners over reception in supervision. The
researcher conducted the study to measure occurrence of alcohol and drug abuse as well as its
dependence in female and male prisoners over reception in the prison. Total 13 studies along

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SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND CRIME
with aggregate of 7563 prisoners was met with the criteria to review. The projection of
occurrence for the alcohol abuse as well as dependency in male convicts ranged nearly from 18
percent to 30 percent and approx. 10 percent to 24 percent in the female convicts. The
occurrence projection of the drug abuse and its dependency in male convicts ranged between 10
percent to 48 percent and nearly 30 percent and 60 percent in female convicts. His research
concluded the requirement to screen for the dependence and abuse of substance at reception in
prison, efficient treatment in custody as well as follow up over the release.
In a study by Anglin (1998), UCLA research Centre for Drug abuse has now become an
esteemed organization for research in the nation that offers comprehensive and reliable findings.
This Centre conducted a research related to crime that focused over relation of criminal behavior
and drug use as well as the effects of intervention in criminal justice and treatment effects over
subsequent criminal offending and drug use. He studied the degree and intensity to which
behavior of criminal co-varies with the drug use level.
In a research by Banks (2003), the researcher has looked over two significant components of
treatment and supervision, drug court for determining that either one or both the combination is
required to prevent the failure and observing a lowered failure risk. The findings have evidenced
that the offenders who get both treatment as well as supervision survived longer but for lesser
time than those who only got the treatment.

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SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND CRIME
REFERENCES
 Anglin, M. D., & Perrochet, B. (1998). Drug use and crime: A historical review of
research conducted by the UCLA Drug Abuse Research Center. Substance use & misuse,
33(9), 1871-1914.
 Banks, D., & Gottfredson, D. C. (2003). The effects of drug treatment and supervision on
time to rearrest among drug treatment court participants. Journal of Drug Issues, 33(2),
385-412.
 Fazel, S., Yoon, I., & Hayes, A. (2017, June 28). Substance use disorders in prisoners: an
updated systematic review and meta-regression analysis in recently incarcerated men and
women. Retrieved June 30, 2017, from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.13877/full
 Gottfredson, D. C., Kearley, B. W., & Bushway, S. D. (2008). Substance use, drug
treatment, and crime: An examination of intra-individual variation in a drug court
population. Journal of Drug Issues, 38(2), 601-630.
 Maynard, B. R., Salas-Wright, C. P., & Vaughn, M. G. (2015). High school dropouts in
emerging adulthood: Substance use, mental health problems, and crime. Community
mental health journal, 51(3), 289-299.