Criminality of Female Narcotics Addicts: A Causal Modeling Approach

The model was tested by a confirmatory structural equation analysis. Early deviance predicted subsequent property crime involvement. Stability across time was demonstrated for narcotics use, property crime, and drug dealing. Strong contemporaneous relationships among these constructs were found. These findings partially replicate patterns found in previous studies for male addicts. In contrast to male addicts, a positive, instead of negative, contemporaneous relationship was found between property crime and drug dealing activities. Between constructs, cross-lag effects were generally small and only that between property crime and later narcotics use was significant. Finally, prostitution was failed to be incorporated into the model. Further research is needed to elucidate the diverse economic support systems among women which may affect the drug-crime relationship. 3 tables, 2 figures, 50 references. (Author abstract)