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Victimized women within the criminal justice system are an important group and understanding their substance use is critical. Substance use was examined among 406 victimized women on probation and parole in an urban community from 2010 to 2013. Ninety-three percent reported lifetime use of an illicit substance, whereas 58% and 45% reported use of at least one illicit substance in the past 2 years and 12 months, respectively. Among probationers, having been in a controlled environment was associated with a higher prevalence of illicit substance use as compared to parolees. Implications for practice, policy, and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined protective order (PO) outcomes for a period of 12 months for 698 women from multiple jurisdictions. Overall, results indicate that 2 out of 5 women did not experience violence after the PO was issued; however, 3 out of 5 women did experience ongoing violence. Two key risk factors were associated with PO violations and are examined. Further, only 9% of women dropped the order, and the vast majority of women perceived the PO was effective and that they felt safe. Results from this study suggest that POs are an important avenue for women's safety. However, results also suggest that PO effectiveness can be increased by attending to specific risk factors, crafting POs to meet individual needs, and by appropriate enforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research indicates that many individuals who perceive themselves to be at no risk of HIV have recently engaged in risky sexual behaviors (Klein et al., 2003; Schroder et al., 2001). Because HIV risk has been associated with partner violence (Maman et al., 2000), it is important to examine self-perceived risk and actual sexual risk behaviors among partner violence victims. Findings are from a study of adult women (N = 569) who were recruited from courts after they had obtained a protective order against a male intimate partner. Two groups were developed on the basis of self-reported perceptions of risk of HIV at the time of the interview (n = 341, no chance; n = 228, some to high chance). Three main findings from this study are discussed: (1) The number of sexual partners and illicit drug use were associated with women's self-perceived risk of HIV; (2) sexual behaviors within the relationship with the abusive partner were not associated with self-perceived risk; and (3) severity of physical violence and frequency of threatened or forced sex in the abusive relationship were not associated with self-perceived risk of HIV. Implications for social work practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: To examine clinical characteristics of clients in state-funded substance abuse treatment who report traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness (TBI-LOC). PARTICIPANTS: Adult clients (N = 7784) entering state-funded substance abuse treatment in a rural state during a 12-month period. MEASUREMENT TOOLS: Substance use and mental health problems were measured using the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) adaptation of the Addiction Severity index (ASI). A brain injury screening question was used to determine the number of TBI-LOCs in a client's lifetime. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of intake characteristics as part of a state-mandated treatment outcome study. RESULTS: Almost one-third (31.7%) of substance abuse treatment clients reported 1 or more TBI-LOCs. The clients reporting 2 or more TBI-LOCs were more likely than clients with none or 1 TBI-LOC to have serious mental health problems (ie, depression, anxiety, hallucinations, and suicidal thoughts and attempts), trouble controlling violent behavior, trouble concentrating or remembering, and more months of use of most substances. When depression and anxiety were held constant, and controlling for race and gender, clients with TBI-LOC had more months of marijuana and tranquilizer use. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that treatment providers may need to be attentive to the complex conditions that co-occur with TBI-LOC. Future research should examine whether there are differences in treatment outcome for clients reporting TBI-LOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The legal status of women's intimate relationships may allow for different experiences with intimate partner violence (IPV) and the protections received from the criminal justice system. There has been limited research examining differences in IPV and protective orders for women in marital and cohabiting intimate relationships. This study examines differences in experiences with IPV and factors related to protective orders: stipulations, violations, and perceived efficacy in a sample of married (n = 392) and cohabiting (n = 307) women with protective orders. Results suggest (a) married and cohabiting women are significantly different on a number of demographic characteristics; however, after controlling for these demographic differences, (b) married and cohabiting women's experiences with IPV are similar in almost all dimensions, except with the psychological tactic of degradation; and (c) married and cohabiting women receive similar protective order stipulations, experience similar rates of violations, and have the same overall perceptions of safety, freedom, and effectiveness pertaining to the domestic violence order. Implications for policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relatively little is known about characteristics of sexual assault survivors who present to the emergency room. Examination of differences in survivor, assault, and exam characteristics by type of offender (intimate partner, acquaintance, acquaintance-just-met, and stranger) was conducted using intake data collected from 331 women who presented to an emergency room and were examined by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner between 2001 and 2004. First, the data suggest there is a difference in injury patterns depending on the survivor-offender relationship. Second, there was a high rate of women assaulted by a known offender presenting to the emergency room. Third, there are important differences in survivor substance use among women assaulted by different offenders. Implications for research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines descriptive information for rural White ( n = 371), urban White ( n = 254), and urban African American ( n = 103) women with protective orders on relationship characteristics, victimization experiences, protective order stipulations and violations, and self-reported effectiveness of the orders. Results indicate that women, regardless of group, reported high rates of physical and psychological violence. Although the majority of the women reported the protective order was effective, almost one in four women reported their partner had violated the order even though the order had only been in effect an average of five weeks. The rural White women reported longer involvement in the violent relationship, worse economic circumstances, more victimization, more protective order stipulations, and feeling less safe compared to the urban groups. The urban White and the urban African American women in this sample were very similar with regard to self-reported relationship and socioeconomic characteristics as well as on perceptions of protective order effectiveness and satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: With more than 3 million persons receiving substance abuse treatment per year in the United States and with increasing interest in treatment outcomes, there is a need for closer attention to all aspects of the treatment process. However, minimal attention has been given to informed consent as a way of enlisting client engagement and active participation in treatment. Although there is some literature on informed consent in substance abuse research, the literature on informed consent to undergo substance abuse treatment is very limited. Incorporating informed consent into substance abuse treatment is recommended as part of motivational interviewing. Standard treatment consent issues include (1) the clinical characteristics of the problem, including diagnosis; (2) treatment recommendations; (3) the risks and benefits of treatment; (4) the financial costs of the intervention; (5) alternative services or interventions should a client refuse the recommended form of care; and (6) freedom to choose or refuse treatment. This article provides a background for informed consent procedures to facilitate client engagement in substance abuse treatment and suggests needs for future research on informed consent to undergo substance abuse treatment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Given the number of divorces that occur each year as well as the high rates of intimate partner violence, it is critical that divorce/separation and victimization be considered in research and in clinical practice with women. However, the separation/divorce research and victimization research has often been conducted independently, with limited attention to integration. The integration of these two domains is critically important in facilitating the understanding of these issues for women. This article has 5 main purposes: (a) to review the research on the general consequences of separation; (b) to review the research on the consequences of separation when children are involved; (c) to review the research on the consequences of victimization; (d) to integrate the separation and victimization research to examine separation in the context of victimization; and (e) to discuss the implications of separation in the context of victimization for practice and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine rural and urban women's perceptions of barriers to health and mental health services as well as barriers to criminal justice system services. Eight focus groups were conducted, two in a selected urban county (n = 30 women) and two in each of three selected rural counties (n = 98 women). Results were classified into a barrier framework developed in the health service utilization literature which suggests there are four main dimensions of barriers: affordability, availability, accessibility, and acceptability. Results indicate that: (1) women face many barriers to service use including affordability, availability, accessibility, and acceptability barriers; (2) it takes an inordinate level of effort to obtain all kinds of services; however, women with victimization histories may face additional barriers over and above women without victimization histories; (3) barriers to health and mental health service utilization overlap with barriers to utilizing the criminal justice system; and (4) there are many similarities in barriers to service use among rural and urban women; however, there are some important differences suggesting barriers are contextual. Future research is needed to further clarify barriers to service use for women with victimization histories in general, and specifically for rural and urban women. In addition, future research is needed to better understand how women cope with victimization in the context of the specific barriers they face in their communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Juvenile drug courts (JDC) emerged in response to a perceived need to intervene more effectively in the substance abuse-delinquency cycle. The influx of drug and alcohol offenders, lack of other juvenile justice system interventions, and positive experiences with adult drug courts helped drive interest in adapting the drug court model for juveniles. This article: (1) provides an overview of substance use and the juvenile justice system; (2) describes the current status of JDC programs; and (3) proposes a model for planning, implementing and evaluating JDCs based on adolescent drug use and treatment research as well as current JDC models. The lack of science-based JDC models and empirically sound JDC evaluations has limited the effectiveness of JDCs. The proposed model is designed to create a new generation of JDCs that maximizes the effectiveness of local resources and delivers research-based interventions to youth and families impacted by substance abuse and delinquency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The fastest growing marital status category in America is divorced, with the number of divorced individuals quadrupling between 1970 and 1996. The majority of children in divorced families live with a single parent and often lose contact with the noncustodial parent. A recent review of the literature suggests that many noncustodial fathers fail to keep contact with their children and become delinquent in child support payments because of their dissatisfaction with the custody arrangement. However, there has been little examination of how custody arrangements are typically determined or settled. In addition, divorces that involve spousal violence bring further complications to child custody, visitation, and child support decisions. This study included a 20% random sample of court records for all divorces settled in one county judicial circuit court during 1998. The purpose of this study was to examine characteristics of divorcing adults as well as characteristics of child custody arrangements, visitation, and child support decisions. Contrary to popular belief, findings from this study indicate that divorce actions were almost always settled through agreement of the divorcing parties rather than by adjudication. About 38% of the couples had children in common and between 78 and 92% of cases were settled through agreement, which suggests that fathers are in fact agreeing to the custody arrangement, rather than being forced into it. About one in five records overall noted spousal violence, and there was no significant difference in settlement methods for couples with or without spousal violence. Cases with children and spousal violence were significantly more likely to have also mentioned substance use and postdecree activity. This study suggests a need for more focused attention on divorce cases with spousal violence to reduce postdecree court involvement and safety of children and adult victims, as well as further study into what causes noncustodial parents to lose contact with their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relatively little is known about rural women's intimate violence experiences in comparison to urban women's experiences, partly because of the difficulty in accessing rural women. This pilot study used a protective order sample of 23 women (15 urban and 8 rural), which provides an access point that is relatively similar for comparisons across rural and urban areas. The number of participants is low and, therefore, results are preliminary. However, several significant findings emerged. Rural women reported significantly less social support, less education, less income, more physical abuse in the preceding year, more childhood physical and sexual abuse, and worse overall health and mental health, as well as encountering abuse earlier in the relationship. Both groups reported higher rates of illegal drug and cigarette use than those among the general population. The findings highlight some overall important themes in examining rural and urban intimate violence victims by suggesting that rural and urban intimate violence victims have different victimization experiences and service needs. Implications for further research and intervention are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stalking is documented, but insufficient attention has been given to case disposition and how prior criminal and protective order histories influence the processing of stalking cases by the court. This study used secondary case analyses to examine the incarceration and prior offense histories of 346 men charged with stalking, the temporal relationship between prior offenses and the stalking offense, and the interplay between criminal/protective order histories and the final disposition of stalking cases. Study results show significant incarceration and criminal histories among stalkers and a frequent use of protective orders in these cases. High dismissal rates of stalking offenses were found, but for charges not dismissed, a relatively high conviction rate was found. Finally, repeat criminal activity within a short time of the index stalking charge was common. Implications and areas for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of incarcerated offenders is increasing, and many have physical and mental health problems. Drug-involved prisoners exhibit more health problems and greater rates of chronic health problems than prisoners who have not used drugs. Furthermore, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence rates are generally high in prisons. This descriptive study profiles health problems (including HIV) and health services utilization in a sample of drug-involved prisoners from a rural state. HIV seropositivity appeared to be unrelated to drug use, except for marijuana use. Only liver problems were significantly associated with HIV serostatus. A history of mental health treatment was related to a greater likelihood of being HIV+. HIV status was most clearly associated with sexual risk behaviors. These preliminary findings suggest that prisons represent an important site for targeted behavioral health interventions focused on HIV risk reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine substance use patterns among a sample of incarcerated males who report engaging in levels of intimate violence, as well as identifying similarities and differences in demographic, economic status, mental health, criminal justice involvement, relationships, and treatment factors for three groups of incarcerated males -- those who report perpetrating low intimate violence, those who report perpetrating moderate intimate violence, and those who report perpetrating extreme intimate violence the year preceding their current incarceration. Findings indicated that low intimate violence group's perpetration consisted almost exclusively of emotional abuse. Moderately intimate violent males and extremely intimate violent males, however, report not only high rates of emotional abuse but physical abuse as well. The distinction between moderate and extremely violent groups was substantial. Findings also indicated that perpetrators at different levels of violence in this study did not vary significantly in age, employment history, marital status, or race. However, the three groups showed significant differences in three main areas: (1) cocaine and alcohol use patterns, (2) stranger violence perpetration and victimization experiences, and (3) emotional discomfort. Implications for substance abuse and mental health treatment interventions and for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article was to examine a statewide random sample of rural, urban influenced, and urban males arrested for perpetrating domestic violence against an intimate partner on demographic, criminal justice history, substance use, relationship characteristics, child abuse, and treatment exposure factors. The study used a 9% random sample of 1,112 pretrial interview records on males arrested for domestic violence in 1997 in Kentucky. The study examined perpetrators in three geographical areas to examine regional differences. Results indicated that community context is critical in understanding domestic violence. In general, rural males appear to present more significant problems given their lower employment rates, lower educational attainments, greater use of psychoactive medications, and higher arrest rates. Alcohol use was significantly prevalent across all three groups, but combined alcohol and nerve pill drug use was more prevalent among rural domestic violence arrestees. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though widespread efforts have focused on educating young adults about HIV and AIDS, many individuals continue to engage in behaviors that place them at risk. These behaviors include frequent experimentation with alcohol and other drugs prior to sex, engaging in sexual activity with different partners, and inconsistent safe sex practices (Butcher et al. 1991). The combination of these risky behaviors causes increased concern about the spread of HIV among those of college age. This study focused on two behaviors by examining the relationship between substance use during adolescence and early initiation of sexual activity in a sample of 950 subjects aged 19–21 in a mid-sized southern city. Results indicate that early use of alcohol and marijuana relates to earlier initiation of sexual activity and subsequent risky sexual behavior among young adults. Also, gender differences were observed for frequent users of marijuana and alcohol with males engaging in riskier sexual practices. Recommendations for interventions are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature suggests that important and contributing factors in the rise of HIV and AIDS among women are crack use and the exchange of sex for drugs or money. However, not all women who use crack report they are exchanging sex for drugs or money. Thus, women are at differential risk for HIV and AIDS. The purpose of this study is to compare and describe women crack users (n = 292) who reported exchanging sex for drugs and money with women crack users who did not report exchanging sex. Results indicated that both women crack users who exchanged sex (n = 162) and women crack users who did not exchange sex (n = 130) were likely to be African American, to be about the same age, to have had incomes below +500 during the previous month, to have had similar education and martial backgrounds, to have had unprotected sexual intercourse as often, to have had similar drug use patterns, and to have initiated drug use at similar ages. However, women who exchanged sex had more sexual partners, had unprotected oral sex more often, used drugs before and during sex more often, and had a higher rate of sexually transmitted diseases than women who did not exchange sex. In addition, women who exchanged sex were also twice as likely to be homeless, four times more likely to have been in treatment, and twice as likely to have been arrested and charged/booked two or more times in their lifetime than women who did not exchange sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]