Substance Use and Abuse.

This article summarizes the findings of a larger study of factors that are associated with women's reoffending, particularly its link with substance abuse. Primary data were derived from semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 26 women who had been released from Christchurch Women's Prison, New Zealand, prior to 1999. These data were triangulated with interviews with informed experts and with secondary data from the participants' community probation records. The study found an association between substance abuse and women's reoffending, which varied according to the type and level of dependence on substances. The relationship among substance abuse, dependence, and victimization affected the women's entry into offending and ongoing recidivism. Desistance from substance abuse and offending was a process of relapse and recovery affected by different life stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]