title: The association of early-life and substance use risks to violent offending among injecting drug users.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  It remains unclear whether violent offending among injecting drug users (IDU) is the direct result of drug use factors or whether they are predisposed to violent behaviour from childhood. The current study sought to identify substance use and early-life correlates of lifetime violent offending among IDUs and to determine what risks contributed to recent violent offending.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred community-based regular IDUs were administered a face-to-face cross-sectional structured interview examining correlates of violent offending.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One-third (34%) of IDUs had committed violence in the past 12 months, 42% more than 12 months ago and 24% had never been violent. Predispositional and substance use risk profiles were poorer among IDUs who had been violent, but many of these risks were even more prevalent and severe among those who had been violent in the past 12 months. Multinomial logistic regression found that IDUs who had been violent in the past 12 months had greater polysubstance and higher trait aggressive personalities than the other IDUs, whereas they were further differentiated from non-recent violent IDUs in having more involvement in drug dealing and more likely to screen positive for conduct disorder.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Drug use factors alone did not adequately explain the likelihood of violent offending among IDUs. Instead, there appeared to be complex interactions between early-life risks and substance use which created a liability to violent offending, and the level of exposure to these risks appeared to explain differences in violent offending patterns.
authors.affiliation: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torok
authors.forename: Shane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Darke
authors.forename: Sharlene
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaye
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shand
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: injecting drug use; predispositional; violent offending