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Drinking problems among recidivist prisoners

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Griffith Edwards ,
Celia Hensman  and
Julian Peto
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
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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.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 1 , Issue 5 , November 1971 , pp. 388 - 399
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

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