Addictive, criminal and psychopathological profile of a sample of women in prison

This study examines the addictive, criminal and psychopathological profile of a sample of 59 women incarcerated in the Villabona prison in Asturias (a region in northern Spain). The instruments administered were the EuropASI, the SCL-90-R and a semi-structured interview. Results showed that the profile is a young, single women with family dependents serving an average of 5 years' imprisonment. Of the total sample, 64.4% met criteria for a substance abuse disorder. We found a statistically significant relationship between the variables use-nonuse and type of crime: women who used substances had committed the most crimes against property and against the socioeconomic order. As regards psychopathology, 44.06% of the sample fulfilled the requirements for clinical case according to Derogatis' (1994) criteria. The results of the SCL-90-R showed that the predominant psychological disorders were, in the following order, depression, somatization, obsessive-compulsive disorder and paranoid ideation. Moreover, in the group of female users, 47.4% had dual pathology. Our results revealed a statistically significant relationship between clinical case and substance use. Finally, statistically significant differences were found between the user and nonuser groups in the EuropASI severity profile. Highest scores were found for the medical, psychiatric and family areas in the user group.