Table 1.
Substance use pattern, previous psychiatric hospitalization, and demographic characteristics in main categories of crime – binary comparisons with violent crime as category of reference (chi-square)
| Violent crime (n=710), n (%) | Drug crime (n=1,331), n (%) | Acquisitive crime (n=1,236), n (%) | Other crime (n=925), n (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Problem substance use (>6 months) | ||||
| Binge drinking | 411 (58) | 456 (34)*** | 550 (44)*** | 499 (54) |
| Heroin | 94 (13) | 325 (24)*** | 334 (27)*** | 162 (18)* |
| Other opioids | 92 (13) | 169 (13) | 224 (18)** | 138 (15) |
| Cocaine | 89 (13) | 256 (19)*** | 214 (17)** | 130 (14) |
| Amphetamine | 377 (53) | 879 (66)*** | 800 (65)*** | 614 (66)*** |
| Cannabis | 418 (59) | 836 (63)**** | 836 (68)*** | 510 (55) |
| Sedatives | 283 (40) | 386 (29)*** | 525 (42) | 304 (33)** |
| Injecting drug use | 284 (40) | 726 (55)*** | 704 (57)*** | 497 (54)*** |
| Psychiatric hospitalization, ever | 126 (18) | 147 (11)*** | 212 (17) | 184 (20) |
| Male gender | 653 (92) | 1170 (88)** | 1130 (91) | 835 (90) |
| Homeless past 30 days prior to incarceration | 133 (19) | 209 (16)**** | 346 (28)*** | 252 (27)*** |
| Mean age (SD)1,2 | 32.6 (10.18) | 35.9 (10.21)*** | 30.5 (8.41)*** | 34.7 (9.40)*** |
Notes:
1
Data missing for age in 11 cases, binge drinking in 65 cases, heroin in 12, other opioids in 27, sedatives in 39, cocaine in 17, amphetamine in 42, cannabis in 46, and injecting drug use in 17 cases, psychiatric hospitalization in 37, homelessness in 22 cases, and gender in 0 case. For all variables, missing data were assumed to be a negative answer, i.e., absence of substance use, hospitalization, and homelessness.
2
Significance of comparison tested with student’s t-test, not assuming normal distribution.
*
p<0.05;
**
p<0.01;
***
p<0.001;
****
p<0.10.