ABSTRACT
This study assessed whether psychopathy and borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms are differentially related to three drinking motives: coping, enhancement, and social. Participants were 170 inmates (74% male) initially held on felony charges in a suburban jail. The Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV; Hart, Cox, & Hare, 1995) and Borderline Features scale of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) were administered at the outset of incarceration. In a follow-up interview 4 to 6 years postincarceration, participants completed the Drinking Motives Questionnaire (DMQ; Cooper, Russell, Skinner, & Windle, 1992) assessing drinking motives. Controlling for drinking frequency, when compared to Factor 1 psychopathy, BPD symptoms had a stronger positive relationship with coping and enhancement drinking motives. No difference was observed for social motives for drinking. Individuals high in BPD symptoms may benefit from therapy emphasizing adaptive coping mechanisms and alternative means of seeking positive emotional states.
Subject(s)
Alcohol Drinking/psychology , Borderline Personality Disorder/psychology , Prisoners/psychology , Psychopathology/methods , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Middle Aged , Motivation , Young AdultABSTRACT
Research on changes in community integration from pre- to postincarceration has primarily focused on employment and is mixed, showing both deterioration and improvement. Research is needed to examine change in other areas, as well as predictive individual-level factors. We assessed changes in jail inmates' (n = 334) employment, source of income, residential stability, marital status, and volunteerism from pre- to post-incarceration, and analyzed individual-level predictors of change. On average, more inmates improved than deteriorated in community integration, with education and low criminal thinking predicting the greatest improvement. Across multiple areas, inmates' community integration does not appear to deteriorate from pre- to post-incarceration. Apparent improvements may reflect that people become incarcerated during times of crisis, regressing to baseline by 1 year postrelease.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To assess changes in inmates' misuse of substances from pre- to post-incarceration. METHODS: In Study 1, professionals (n = 162) and laypersons (n = 50) predicted how jail inmates' substance misuse would change from pre-incarceration to post-release. In Study 2, a longitudinal study of 305 jail inmates, we examined actual changes in substance use and dependence from pre-incarceration to the first year post-incarceration, as well as whether changes varied as a function of demographic, criminal justice, treatment, and personality factors. RESULTS: Professionals and laypersons predicted little change in substance misuse whereas, in fact, inmates' frequency of substance use and dependence decreased substantially from pre-incarceration to post-release. Sharper decreases were observed for inmates who were female, younger, more educated, serving longer sentences, enrolled in substance abuse treatment, high in shame-proneness, and low in criminogenic thinking. Race, first time incarceration, transfer to other correctional facilities, mandated community supervision (probation), and guilt-proneness did not predict changes in substance use or dependence. CONCLUSIONS: Although substance misuse decreased, this remains a population high in need of substance abuse treatment both upon arrest and at one year post-incarceration; 60% of former inmates met at least one DSM-IV criterion for substance dependence at one year post-release.
