Journal of Criminal Justice 39(3)

Addiction and the Criminal Justice System 

Addiction and criminal justice: Empirical findings and theory for advancing public safety and health  
Michael Vaughn

Multivariate comparison of male and female adolescent substance abusers with accompanying legal problems
Ralph E. Tarter, Levent Kirisci, Ada Mezzich, David Patton

Adolescent girls who have substance abuse and legal problems have more pervasive disturbances than boys. Peer relationships in boys but not girls mediate the association between family disturbance and substance abuse. Derived table of standardized scores reveal that overall severity of problems in substance abusing girls with or without legal problems is about 10% more severe than boys.

Characteristics of abstainers from substance use and antisocial behavior in the United States
Michael G. Vaughn, Qiang Fu, Stephen J. Wernet, Matt DeLisi, Kevin M. Beaver, Brian E. Perron, Matthew O. Howard

The prevalence of abstaining in the U.S. was 11 percent.  Abstainers were significantly more likely to be female, Asian, African-American, and employed.  Abstainers were also significantly less likely to evidence lifetime mood, anxiety, or personality disorder compared to non-abstainers.  Abstainers were also less likely to be diagnosed with a mental health disorder than non-abstainers.

Marijuana but not alcohol use during adolescence mediates the association between transmissible risk for substance use disorder and number of lifetime violent offenses
Maureen D. Reynolds, Ralph E. Tarter, Levent Kirisci, Duncan B. Clark

A measure of SUD risk at age 10–12 predicted violence committed by early adulthood. > The TLI is a significant predictor of violent offending in both genders. Increase in marijuana use over the teen years contributes to violent acts by age 22. Alcohol use in teen years does not contribute to violent acts by age 22.

An empirical portrait of youthful offenders who sell drugs
Jeffrey J. Shook, Michael Vaughn, Sara Goodkind, Heath Johnson

Approximately 70% of youthful offenders in the sample sold drugs or were involved in drug selling.  Sixty-four percent who reported selling drugs did so daily and 54% sold drugs for more than one year.  Nearly 69% of the youthful offenders who sold drugs kept more than half of what they purchased.  Youthful offenders who sold drugs were more likely to use substances than those who did not.  Youthful offenders who reported selling prescription drugs reported the highest rate of substance use.

Examining the relationship among substance abuse, negative emotionality and impulsivity across subtypes of antisocial and psychopathic substance abusers
Melissa S. Magyar, John F. Edens, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Kevin S. Douglas, Norman G. Poythress Jr.

Secondary psychopathy is more strongly related to substance problems than primary psychopathy.  The relationship between substance use and negative emotions is stronger among non-psychopaths.  The etiology of substance abuse may differ for psychopathic versus nonpsychopathic offenders.

Predictors of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and self-harm without lethal intent in a community corrections sample
Tracy D. Gunter, John T. Chibnall, Sandra K. Antoniak, Robert A. Philibert, Nancy Hollenbeck

Community offenders have high frequencies of suicidal ideas and self-harm.  Traumatic experience and fractures predicted suicidal ideas and self-harm.  Drug dependence predicted suicidal ideation.  Panic predicted self-harm without lethal intent.  Total PCL:SV score predicted self-harm, Factor 2 score predicted suicidal ideation.

Substance abuse treatment for juvenile offenders: A review of quasi-experimental and experimental research
Stephen J. Tripodi, Kimberly Bender

Quantitative analysis to review literature on alcohol and marijuana reduction interventions for adolescents.  Analyzed five studies with alcohol use outcomes and five studies with marijuana use outcomes.  Found that substance abuse interventions appear to have a small to moderate effect on alcohol and marijuana reduction for substance abusing juvenile offenders.

Targeting dispositions for drug-involved offenders: A field trial of the Risk and Needs Triage (RANT)™
Douglas B. Marlowe, David S. Festinger, Karen L. Dugosh, Anne Caron, Marcy R. Podkopacz, Nicolle T. Clements

The RANT™ predicted recidivism for felony drug and property offenders.  Criminogenic risk and need constituted independent and coherent factors.  Trends favored better outcomes for offenders who received suitable dispositions.

Decide your time: Testing deterrence theory's certainty and celerity effects on substance-using probationers
Daniel O'Connell, Christy A. Visher, Steven Martin, Laurin Parker, John Brent

Describes Delaware's Decide Your Time (DYT) program.  Theoretically built program based on certainty of punishment and graduated sanctions.  Identifies complications initiating and implementing such a program like DYT.  Need for programs to consider execution logistics and local legal structures.

Pathways through drugs and crime: Desistance, trauma and resilience
Richard Hammersley

There are pathways through drugs and crime other than experimentation or drug dependence.  Neglected pathways include intense substance use and offending which remits untreated.  As adolescents age into adulthood they tend to reduce offending and increase substance use.  Intense use is widely confused with dependence, which perpetuates ineffective and inappropriate interventions.  Psychological trauma may trigger intense use and persistent or repeated trauma may cause drug dependence.

Civil asset forfeiture, equitable sharing, and policing for profit in the United States
Jefferson E. Holcomb, Tomislav V. Kovandzic, Marian R. Williams

Crime-minimizing drug policy
Mark A.R. Kleiman, Lowry Heussler

Smarter drug policies could reduce non-drug crime.

Journal of Criminal Justice, May 2011: Volume 39, Issue 3