Prevalence of Substance use in Relation to Criminal Behavior Patterns among Prison Inmates in Karachi: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: To determine the prevalence of licit and illicit substance use among male and female prisoners ofKarachi jails, and the association between substance use and the type of crime committed.Study Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study.Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted among male and female prisoners in Malir and CentralJail, Karachi, Pakistan from April 2020 to September 2020.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 700 males and females aged 18-60 from Central andMalir Jail, Karachi, Pakistan. The sample population was selected using a convenience sampling technique. Theprevalence and type of substance use were assessed using the WHO Questionnaire. Chi-square was applied toidentify the association between drug use and criminal profile.Results: Male prisoners were more likely to have ever used tobacco compared with females (91.5% vs 34.0%)followed by cannabis (55.0% vs 2.0%) and opioids (25.8% vs 2.0%). Overall, current substance use duringimprisonment was relatively less than lifetime use of substance before imprisonment. However, the types ofsubstance used remained unchanged. During imprisonment, Tobacco was currently the most commonsubstance of use among males (85.2%) and females (27%). A significant association was observed between everdrug use and type of crime committed (P<0.001).Conclusion: The current study demonstrated a higher prevalence of lifetime substance use compared to theprevalence of current substance use; however, the type of drugs was not specified. However, the type of druguse remained consistent. A predominant consumption of tobacco, cannabis, and opiates was found amongmale prisoners, and high consumption of tobacco was found among female prisoners. Respectively, 95.1% and91.6% of inmates imprisoned for drug-related crimes and unlicensed weapons were drug users. How to cite this: Jamal M, Waheed S, Shakoor A. Prevalence of Substance use in Relation to Criminal Behavior Patterns among Prison Inmates in Karachi: A Cross-Sectional Study. Life and Science. 2025; 6(2): 202-210. doi: http://doi.org/10.37185/LnS.1.1.899