Criminality Among Female Drug Abusers

Abstract

Criminality among female (n=351) drug abusers is compared to that of men (n=798) as part of a longitudinal study of persons in treatment in Sweden (the SWEDATE project). The extent of criminality was much less among females than among males, and fewer women than men were criminal. The pattern of criminality varied between the sexes. Women's crime debuts occurred later, and they committed less violent crimes and more drug-related crimes. The majority of women supported themselves in other way s than with criminality. Also, women tended to have a more severe pattern of abuse, a more rapid drug career, and more complex psychological problems than men. A subgroup of prostitutes whose drug of choice was heroin often began drug use early with cannabis and went on to amphetamine for their first injection, which often took place in a junkie pad. There was also a criminal group (as there was among men) with a very early and intensive juvenile delinquency pattern, early drug debuts and a rapid transition to regular abuse and extensive adult criminality. Forty-two percent of the women had no criminal records; they had more extensive multiple drug abuse than the other women (this was also true for the noncriminal male addicts). The study shows that drug abuse and criminality are interrelated for certain individuals, but not for others.