Perceived Need for Treatment among Pregnant and Nonpregnant Women Arrestees

Abstract

Previous research has noted a high rate of drug use by women arrestees. Not only are women arrestees more likely to be found drug positive by urinalysis than are men arrestces, but in recent years, in part because of drug use, women have constituted the fastest growing population segment involved with the criminal justice system. One small hut important subgroup of women arrestees are those who are pregnant and, thus, who particularly need intervention. This article utilizes Drug Use Fore casting (DUF) data from Los Angeles jails to examine whether or not pregnant drugabusing women arrestees differ from nonpregnant drug-abusing women arrestees in terms of perceived need for treatment. Bivariate an alyses and multivariate logistic regression show that pregnant drug-using women are not more likely than nonpregnant women to perceive a need for treatment. Although pregnancy status is not related to perceived need, a number of other factors are related, including being single. Euro-American ethnicity, using cocaine or opioids for more than three days in the past 30 days, being self-identified as currently drug dependent, having a substance abuse treatment history, and having lower legal incomes. Interventions with drug-using women arrestees should he made early in their drug use and criminal careers and should target both pregnant and nonpregnant women.

Keywords:

• perceived need for treatment
• pregnancy status
• substance abuse
• women arrestees