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People who are incarcerated are at increased risk for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) acquisition upon release, and one possible intervention for prevention is the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) upon release. The present study assessed HIV risk perceptions as well as PrEP awareness and interest among 39 people who were incarcerated and enrolled in a structured Medication for Addiction Treatment (MAT) program at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections using semi-structured, qualitative interviews. Analysis was conducted using a generalized, inductive method in NVivo 12. While PrEP awareness was low across the study sample, some participants were interested in PrEP uptake or learning more about PrEP after they were provided with an overview of it. PrEP interest strongly related to current perceived HIV risk. Potential barriers included side effects, adherence, and reluctance to take medications in general. MAT programs for people who are criminal justice (CJ) involved may serve as useful linkage spaces to PrEP information, access, and retention., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Problems with self-reported drug use include difficulties with recall and recognition as well as the desire to respond to questions in a socially desirable manner. Various methods have been developed to improve and/or validate estimates based on direct questioning of individuals regarding their substance use. For this study, we were interested in validating self-reported use of: 1) tobacco, 2) marijuana, and 3) other substances (i.e., heroin, cocaine, opiates, oxycodone, benzodiazepines, methamphetamine, phencyclidine, and barbiturates) employing urinalysis among inmates who participated in a randomized controlled trial of a smoking abstinence intervention in a tobacco-free prison located in the northeastern United States., Methods: Two-hundred and seven men and women with a mean age of 34.9 (standard deviation = 9.0) completed questions regarding their substance use on a 7-day Timeline Follow-Back and provided urine specimens three weeks following prison release., Results: Self-reported tobacco and marijuana use were highly consistent with urine drug testing in terms of overall agreement and Kappa (93.7% and.804 for tobacco, respectively; and 90.3% and.804 for marijuana, respectively); however, consistency was much lower for other drug use grouped together (62.7% and.270)., Discussion: Although some former inmates may not accurately report substance use, our findings indicate that they are in the minority, suggesting that self-report is valid for tobacco and marijuana use but much less so for other drugs grouped together. Future research should be conducted with a larger and more diverse sample of former inmates to establish the generalizability of our findings from this study.

Background: Few studies have examined the relation between impulsivity and drug involvement with prison inmates, in spite of their heavy drug use. Among this small body of work, most studies look at clinically relevant drug dependence, rather than drug use specifically., Method: N=242 adult inmates (34.8% female, 52% White) with an average age of 35.58 (SD=9.19) completed a modified version of the 15-item Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) and measures assessing lifetime alcohol, opiate, benzodiazepine, cocaine, cannabis, hallucinogen, and polysubstance use. Lifetime users also reported the frequency of use for the 30days prior to incarceration., Results: Impulsivity was higher among lifetime users (versus never users) of all substances other than cannabis. Thirty day drug use frequency was only related to impulsivity for opiates and alcohol., Discussion: This study extends prior work, by showing that a lifetime history of non-clinical substance use is positively associated with impulsivity among prison inmates. Implications for drug interventions are considered for this population, which is characterized by high rates of substance use and elevated impulsivity., (Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objective: While work has been conducted on gender differences to inform gender-specific programming, relatively little work has been done regarding racial and ethnic differences among incarcerated and detained girls in particular. This is an important gap, considering gender, race, and ethnicity may be important factors in responding to the needs of incarcerated and detained girls within the Risk-Needs-Responsivity (RNR) model. We hypothesize girls will show relatively more pathology than boys, and that White girls will show relatively more pathology as compared to girls of other groups. Implications of findings for services delivery and policy are presented., Method: Data were collected on N = 657 youth using structured interview and record review. Analyses included χ2 and t tests., Results: As compared to boys, girls were older at first arrest yet younger during most lock-up, received poorer grades, experienced more family difficulty, and more were lesbian/bisexual. As compared to minority girls, White girls began hard drugs at a younger age, had more conduct disorder symptoms, and more frequently experienced parental difficulty and abuse., Conclusions and Implications for Practice: Age-appropriate programming that addresses family difficulty and sexuality is needed for girls. As compared to White girls, reentry planning may more readily rely on family support for minority girls. Systems should consider use of actuarial methods in order to reduce bias in making placement decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).)

The purpose of this study was to examine perceived relationship power as a mediator of the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health issues among incarcerated women with a history of substance use. Cross-sectional data from 304 women as part of the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS) were used to evaluate this hypothesis. Regression analyses examined the mediation relationship of perceived relationship power in the association between a history of IPV and mental health issues. Results supported the hypothesis, suggesting that perceived relationship power helps to explain the association between IPV and mental health issues. Implications of the findings for the provision of services to address the needs of these women are discussed, including assessment of perceived relationship power and focusing counseling interventions on women's experiences with power in intimate relationships.

Aims: To determine whether collaborative behavioral management (CBM) reduces substance use, crime and re-arrest among drug-involved parolees., Design: Step'n Out was a randomized behavioral trial of CBM versus standard parole (SP) during 2004-08. CBM adapted evidence-based role induction, behavioral contracting and contingent reinforcement to provide parole officer/treatment counselor dyads with positive tools in addition to sanctions to manage parolees' behavior over 12 weeks., Setting: Six parole offices in five states in the USA., Participants: Parolee volunteers with a mandate for addiction treatment and a minimum of 3 months of parole (n = 476). Follow-up was 94% at 3 months and 86% at 9 months., Measurements: Drug use and crime in a given month from calendar interviews 3 and 9 months after parole initiation, and re-arrests from criminal justice administrative data., Findings: The CBM group had fewer months in which they used their primary drug [adjusted risk ratio (ARR) 0.20, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.05, 0.78, P = 0.02] and alcohol (ARR 0.38, 95% CI: 0.22, 0.66, P = 0.006) over follow-up. CBM had its greatest effects among parolees who reported marijuana or another 'non-hard' drug as their primary drug; parolees who preferred stimulants or opiates did not benefit. No differences were seen in total crime, re-arrests or parole revocations., Conclusions: Collaborative behavioral management may reduce substance use among primary marijuana or other 'non-hard' drug-using parolees without increasing revocations. Because the majority of drug violation arrests in the United States are for marijuana, these findings have important implications for the management of a substantial proportion of the US community correctional population., (Published 2011. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.)

Objective: To estimate prevalence of childhood ADHD among incarcerated women and determine its association with substance use and adult functioning., Method: 192 female participants are recruited from the Department of Corrections in Rhode Island. Childhood ADHD is defined as scoring >46 on the Wender Utah Rating Scale., Results: The findings reveal that 46% met criteria for childhood ADHD. Multivariate analysis reveal that women meeting WURS criteria were more likely to be inconsistently employed (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.10-0.54), recently homeless (OR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.02-4.30), lifetime incarceration of more than 90 days (OR = 3.00, 95% CI = 1.37-6.57), current smokers (OR = 2.99, 95% CI = 1.24-7.20), and ever used marijuana regularly (OR = 3.47, 95% CI = 1.61-7.45)., Conclusion: Among incarcerated women, childhood ADHD is associated with negative social and health behaviors.

This study examined gender differences in a range of lifetime psychiatric disorders in a sample of 272 offenders newly admitted to a prison substance abuse program. Although these men and women did not differ in severity of substance use in the six months prior to incarceration, women were significantly more likely than men to report a lifetime psychiatric disorder and a lifetime severe disorder. Furthermore, gender differences emerged in the pattern of lifetime psychiatric comorbidity. Women reported greater lifetime major depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, eating disorder, and borderline personality disorder; men were more likely than women to meet criteria for antisocial personality disorder. Additionally, female offenders were found to have a higher degree of internalizing disorders than male offenders, but there were no gender differences in degree of externalizing disorders. The study concluded that women offenders newly admitted to a prison substance abuse program present with a greater psychiatric vulnerability and a different pattern of psychiatric comorbidity than their male counterparts.

The current study was designed to examine associations between gender-based violence and arrests due to sex trade or drug-related charges among a statewide sample of incarcerated women in Rhode Island. Incarcerated women were asked to participate in brief pre- and posttest surveys of their experiences of violence, sexual risk and substance use behaviors, as part of a study on the effectiveness of a family planning program in a state correctional facility; data from pretest surveys (N=447) were used for current analyses. Logistic regression analyses adjusted for demographics were used to assess significant associations between gender-based violence variables (i.e., adolescent intimate partner violence (IPV), adult IPV, childhood sexual assault (SA), adolescent SA, and adult SA) and arrests due to sex trade or drug-related charges. Significant relationships were observed between arrests for sex trade and adult SA (OR=2.1, 95%CI=1.2-3.6), adolescent IPV (OR=2.5, 95%CI=1.5-4.1), and adult IPV (OR=1.7, 95%CI=1.1-2.6); no significant associations were observed for drug-related charges. Findings from the current study demonstrate that experiences of gender-based violence are associated with arrests for sex trade but not drug-related charges. Interventions for incarcerated women are needed to consider and address history of victimization from gender-based violence and its relation to women's historic and future sex trade involvement.