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Drinking problems among recidivist prisoners

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Griffith Edwards
Affiliation:
Addiction Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Celia Hensman
Affiliation:
Addiction Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Julian Peto
Affiliation:
Addiction Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London

Synopsis

The general relationship between alcohol and crime is reviewed, and five central methodological problems are identified relevant to prison population ‘alcoholism prevalence surveys’ as a prelude to a report of an investigation of 500 recidivist prisoners. The prevalence rate is shown to be highly dependent on the particular definition of ‘alcoholism’ which is employed. Long-term and short-term prisoner subgroups are compared, and similarities with a population of non-prisoner homeless men discussed. A ‘dependence score’ derived from an operant conditioning model of alcoholism correlates significantly with various measures of social instability.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

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