Substance use disorder prevalence among female state prison inmates

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are prevalent among female inmates. As the female state prison population continues to increase, describing the specific clinical and demographic characteristics of female prisoners remains of paramount importance to better define women's needs in the state prison system.

To determine the prevalence and patterns of current DSM-IV SUDs and explore whether particular demographic characteristics are more strongly associated with specific SUD categories.

Data were derived from routine clinical assessments of 801 female inmates incarcerated in the Minnesota Department of Corrections state prison system. The Substance Use Disorder Diagnostic Schedule-IV (Hoffmann NG, Harrison PA. SUDDS-IV: Substance Use Disorder Diagnostic Schedule-IV. Smithfield, RI: Evince Clinical Assessments, 1995) was administered to all inmates as a computer-prompted interview on admission to the prison.

Of the inmates, 70.0% were dependent on at least one substance, and 7.9% met criteria for substance abuse. Alcohol dependence (30.2%) and cocaine dependence (30.1%) were the two most prevalent SUDs. The remaining substance dependence diagnoses that predominated were as follows: stimulant dependence, 24.1%; marijuana dependence, 15.6%; and heroin dependence, 9.6%. Over half (56.9%) were dependent on a substance other than alcohol. Prevalence of cocaine dependence [odds ratio (OR) = 2.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.92-4.16] was significantly higher among African Americans, whereas prevalence of stimulant dependence (OR = 9.24, 95% CI = 5.40-15.80) was significantly higher among Caucasians. Prevalence of alcohol (OR = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.38-3.25) and heroin (OR = 2.67, 95% CI = 1.50-4.77) dependence was significantly higher among Native Americans.

SUDs in general, and illicit drug use disorders in particular, are prevalent among female inmates entering a state prison system. Membership to a particular ethnic group may identify a set of inmates at elevated risk for the presence of substance-specific dependence diagnoses.