Gender-specific factors associated with community substance abuse treatment utilization among incarcerated substance users

This article describes the independent correlates of preincarceration community substance abuse treatment utilization for male and female offenders currently participating in prison-based treatment. As part of the National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies cooperative agreement, this protocol was implemented by four collaborating research centers. Males with a history of treatment utilization were more likely to be older, to have used crack, and to have had a greater number of arrests, and they were less likely to be arrested for a violent charge. Females with previous treatment were more likely to have been hospitalized for a health condition and were significantly more likely to have lived with someone else before prison rather than in their own home. These findings suggest that factors associated with preincarceration treatment utilization differ by gender, which may have important implications for correctional-based treatment assessment, reentry planning, and transitional case management.