Citation

Shewan D, Reid M, MacPherson S, Davies JB, Greenwood J. Leg. Crim. Psychol. 2001; 6(1): 19-28.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, British Psychological Society, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1348/135532501168172

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Purpose. Research in the area of injecting risk behaviour among drug users in prison is increasing; this paper attempts to rectify the paucity of research on risk behaviour of prisoners after release. This study also assesses the impact of both in-prison and community drug services on injecting risk behaviour after release.Methods. This longitudinal study looked at the risk behaviour of a cohort of ex-prisoners in Edinburgh, Scotland. Two follow-up interviews were carried out after release from prison, involving 56 and 40 participants respectively. This study built on an in-prison evaluation of a drug reduction programme, and sufficient numbers were recruited to compare an intervention and a control group.Results. There was some evidence of an initial flurry of injecting risk behaviour among participants soon after release, with a minority reporting injecting after release from prison, but over time patterns of injecting were variable. There was a low incidence of sharing injecting equipment. Generally, and perhaps contrary to expectation, post-release risk behaviour among the present sample was relatively low. Neither community-based nor in-prison drug treatment programmes were found to have a major effect on patterns of drug use.Conclusions. Caution should be observed when generalizing from the data obtained in this study. That said, focusing specifically on the period after release as a situational factor in increased injecting risk among drug users has indicated that more enduring local factors may be just as influential on levels of risk behaviour. Contact with neither in-prison nor community drug services was predictive of lower risk behaviour.

Language: en