An Examination of the Age of Substance Use Onset and Adult Severity of Use Among Offenders Entering Treatment

Martha Tillson, Michele Staton, Justin C. Strickland, Kevin Pangburn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Early onset of substance use has demonstrated a robust relationship with later severity of use, yet this relationship has been less examined in criminal justice contexts or examined differentially by gender. The present study utilized secondary data from a sample of offenders in one small Midwestern state entering corrections-based substance abuse treatment in prison, jail, or community settings to address these gaps in the literature. Findings indicated that age of regular cigarette use did not uniquely affect severity of illicit drug use in adulthood, defined as the frequency of use or endorsement of substance use disorder criteria. In comparison, ages of onset for alcohol and illicit drug use were significantly associated with multiple severity variables examined. Gender was not found to moderate these relationships. These findings emphasize that age of use onset for alcohol and illicit drugs can be valuable in identifying offenders at risk of severe substance use in adulthood.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)238-252
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Drug Issues
Volume49
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2018.

Keywords

  • drug use
  • gender
  • initiation
  • offenders
  • substance use severity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health(social science)
  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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