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Perceived Substance Use Norms Among Jailed Women with Alcohol Use Disorders
Author(s) -
Timko Christine,
Chatav Schonbrun Yael,
Anderson Bradley,
Johnson Jennifer E.,
Stein Michael
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/acer.14403
Subject(s) - substance use , medicine , cannabis , population , psychological intervention , psychiatry , demography , clinical psychology , environmental health , sociology
Background Social norms regarding substance use predict substance use behaviors. In a sample of jailed women with alcohol use disorders (AUDs), we compared (i) jailed women’s perceptions of the US women population’s rates of substance use, with US women’s actual rates of substance use; (ii) jailed women’s perceived rates of substance use by US women, with their perceptions of use by their own friends; and (iii) US women’s actual rates of substance use, with observed sample substance use rates. Methods Participants were 205 jailed women who met criteria for an AUD. We used the 1‐sample or dependent‐samples t‐test to make the comparisons. Results Participants overestimated US women’s rates of substance use and incarceration rates. They perceived their friends’ substance use as less common than US women’s. The jailed women reported higher rates of their own substance use than actual rates by US women. In addition, jailed women self‐reported less cannabis use, but more alcohol and cocaine use and cigarette smoking, than they perceived their friends to have used. The more women perceived their friends as drinking, the less they had a goal to drink less or abstain from drinking postincarceration; in contrast, perceptions of US women’s drinking were not related to personal goals for drinking. Conclusions Interventions that correct misperceptions about substance use norms may have utility for jailed women with AUDs.