Interpersonal Partner Relationships, Bonds to Children, and Informal Social Control among Persistent Male Offenders

Incarceration Rates and Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in US Counties, 2011-2016

Objectives. To examine rates of sexually transmitted infections as a function of jail and prison incarceration rates across US counties for the years 2011 to 2016.Methods. We used data from several national databases. The outcomes were county-level chlamydia and gonorrhea incidence as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012-2016). The exposures were lagged specifications of county-level jail and prison incarceration rates as reported by the Vera Institute of Justice (2011-2015). We estimated mixed models to account for the 3 sources of response variable variation occurring across repeated measures collected from counties nested within states.Results. In the final model, jail and prison incarceration rates were associated with a rate increase of 10.13 per 100 000 and 8.22 per 100 000, respectively, of chlamydia incidence. The corresponding rate increases for gonorrhea incidence were 2.47 per 100 000 and 4.40 per 100 000.Conclusions. These findings provide some evidence that the documented differences in chlamydia and gonorrhea incidence between counties may be partially attributable to differences in jail and prison incarceration rates.

Trajectories of heroin use: A 15-year retrospective study of Mexican-American men who were affiliated with gangs during adolescence

BACKGROUND

Heroin use is a public health concern in the United States. Despite the unique etiology and patterns of heroin use among U.S. Latinos, long-term heroin trajectories and health consequences among Latinos are not well understood. This study aims to document the distinct heroin use trajectories for a group of street-recruited (non-treatment), young adult Mexican American men living in a disadvantaged community who were affiliated with gangs during their youth.

METHODS

One-time interviews conducted between 2009-2012 in San Antonio, TX collected retrospective data from a sample of 212 Mexican American young adult men who reported using heroin at least once. Group-based trajectory modeling was applied to determine discrete developmental trajectories of heroin use. ANOVA, Chi square tests, and multinomial logistic regression examined current (past year) social and health indicators among each trajectory group.

RESULTS

Five discrete heroin trajectories groups were identified: low use (n = 65); late accelerating (n = 31); early decelerating (n = 26); late decelerating (n = 38); and stably high (n = 52). Varying social and health consequences were found among the trajectory groups.

CONCLUSION

This study describes the unique heroin use trajectories and social and health outcomes among a high-risk subgroup of Mexican American men. The findings suggest that early intervention and intervention available in easy to access non-treatment spaces may be especially useful for groups of people who use relatively less heroin.