The association between impulsivity and alcohol/drug use among prison inmates
- PMID: 25462662
- PMCID: PMC4369910
- DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.11.016
The association between impulsivity and alcohol/drug use among prison inmates
Abstract
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.
Keywords: Alcohol; Drugs; Impulsivity; Inmates; Prison; Substance use.
Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Conflict of interest statement
No authors have any conflict of interests to report
Similar articles
-
The relationship of stress, impulsivity, and beliefs to drug use severity in a sample of women prison inmates.Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2008 Dec;52(6):686-97. doi: 10.1177/0306624X07309754. Epub 2007 Nov 26. Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2008. PMID: 18040061
-
Substance use among inmates at the Eldoret prison in Western Kenya.BMC Psychiatry. 2013 Feb 13;13:53. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-13-53. BMC Psychiatry. 2013. PMID: 23406288 Free PMC article.
-
Neurocognitive impairment and suicide risk among prison inmates.J Affect Disord. 2018 Jan 1;225:273-277. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.08.030. Epub 2017 Aug 14. J Affect Disord. 2018. PMID: 28841492
-
Pharmacotherapy treatment in substance-dependent correctional populations: a review.Subst Use Misuse. 2005;40(13-14):1983-99, 2043-8. doi: 10.1080/10826080500294866. Subst Use Misuse. 2005. PMID: 16282089 Review.
-
Meta-analysis of the relationship between impulsivity and substance-related cognitive biases.Drug Alcohol Depend. 2017 Mar 1;172:21-33. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.11.034. Epub 2017 Jan 5. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2017. PMID: 28107679 Review.
Cited by
-
High peak drinking levels mediate the relation between impulsive personality and injury risk in emerging adults.Inj Epidemiol. 2024 Feb 13;11(1):5. doi: 10.1186/s40621-024-00487-4. Inj Epidemiol. 2024. PMID: 38350989 Free PMC article.
-
Sociodemographic Attributes and Prevalence of Arrest With Possession of Substances in Incarcerated Population in the United States.Cureus. 2022 Feb 19;14(2):e22379. doi: 10.7759/cureus.22379. eCollection 2022 Feb. Cureus. 2022. PMID: 35321067 Free PMC article.
-
Epidemiology, Risk Factors, and Prevention of Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviour in Prisons: A Literature Review.Psychol Belg. 2021 Nov 22;61(1):341-355. doi: 10.5334/pb.1072. eCollection 2021. Psychol Belg. 2021. PMID: 34900324 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Personality and impulsivity as predictors of tobacco use among emerging adults: A latent class analysis.Pers Individ Dif. 2020 Sep 1;163:110076. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110076. Epub 2020 May 12. Pers Individ Dif. 2020. PMID: 34321706 Free PMC article.
-
Aggressive and Disruptive Behavior Among Psychiatric Patients With Major Depressive Disorder, Schizophrenia, or Alcohol Dependency and the Effect of Depression and Self-Esteem on Aggression.Front Psychiatry. 2020 Dec 3;11:599828. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.599828. eCollection 2020. Front Psychiatry. 2020. PMID: 33343427 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Belenko S, Peugh J. Fighting crime by treating substance abuse. Issues in Science and Technology. 1998;15:53–60.
-
- Blumstein A, Beck AJ. Population growth in U.S. prisons, 1980–1996. In: Tonry M, Petersilia J, editors. Prisons. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, Chicago; 1999. pp. 17–61.
-
- Caspi A, Begg D, Dickson N, Harrington H, Langley J, Moffitt TE, Silva PA. Personality differences predict health-risk behaviors in young adulthood: Evidence from a longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 1997;73:1052–1063. - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous