After Release, Jail Inmates’ Substance Use Patterns Relate to Their Choice of Friends

The figure shows that inmates' pre-release self-assessment of their ability to exercise self-control to avoid drug use had only an indirect relationship to their actual use of alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine one year following release. One year following their release, inmates who had rated their self-control higher had lower proportions of friends who used drugs, and having fewer drug-using friends correlated with less drug use

An inset in the figure shows that the impact of having drug-using friends on inmates’ own drug use varied by age and drug. Having more drug-using friends was associated with a larger positive increment in cocaine use difference among older, as compared to younger, ex-inmates. In contrast, having more drug-using friends was associated with a larger positive increment in marijuana use among younger, as compared to older, ex-inmates.