In an attempt to aid in the clarification of the relationship between substance abuse and female criminal offending, substance use histories of female offender subtypes were compared. Study participants consisted of 152 women recruited from the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in Oklahoma City, OK, between July 1994 and December 1995. The study hypothesized that offense subtypes would have different substance use histories. It was expected that most women incarcerated for violent crimes would report histories of alcohol or cocaine misuse or combined alcohol and cocaine misuse. The study results were consistent with previous findings that female inmates have extensive substance misuse histories. The majority from this study sample reported alcohol and drug misuse and reported a substance use problem. Violent offenders reported drinking more alcohol than other offender groups and most frequently reported marijuana as the drug of choice. The data suggest that violent offender subtypes may be associated with substance use patterns. In conclusion, the data provide evidence of the heterogeneity of substance use among female prison inmates and suggest that offender sub-groups have different substance use histories and therefore may have different treatment needs. References