Trauma, Substance Use and Incarceration: Toward Gender-Responsive Justice for Incarcerated Women in Spain

This study examines the sociodemographic, criminological, and psychological profiles of incarcerated women in Spain who use drugs. Women with a history of substance use (n = 147) were compared with women without such a history (n = 80) to identify differences in their social circumstances, experiences of victimization, mental health, and psychological characteristics. Women who used drugs reported greater exposure to victimization and mental health difficulties and had entered prison at a younger age. They also presented a pattern of compounded vulnerability characterized by unemployment, lower educational attainment, family histories of substance use, and experiences of physical abuse by a partner or ex-partner. Multivariate analysis further identified unemployment prior to incarceration, family history of drug use, partner or ex-partner physical abuse, mental or psychological illness, and honesty as independent predictors of substance-use status. These findings highlight the close relationship between substance use, victimization, socioeconomic disadvantage, and mental health.