.Hartman, Julia A. 1979. - Anthropological Considerations of Mental Health Problems and Substance Abuse Among Women in the Hillsborough County, Florida Stockade. Abstract: Women offenders have long been neglected as a subject of research. However, the feminist movement in the United States has generated an interest in women offenders and in the relationship between the feminist movement and women and crime. It has been suggested that the crime rate for women is rising, and that this increase is due to the changing attitudes occasioned by the feminist movement. Problems with mental health, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse among women have also been relatively ignored. This is especially true for women offenders. The Women's Resource Center is a private, non-profit organization in Tampa, Florida, which provides services to women offenders and ex-offenders. These services include individual counseling, vocational guidance, and appropriate referrals. Staff members from the Women's Resource Center interviewed 488 women in the Hillsborough County, Florida, Stockade during a 15-month period. These women consented to the interview and did not comprise a random sample of the female population of the Stockade. Data were collected on a Stockade Intake Form, which was designed primarily to determine the immediate needs of the women and not for research. Results show that 72 (17.6%) of the women reported having been a patient in a mental institution. When compared to non-patients, former patients were found to be significantly more likely to have used drugs, to be interested in and/or to have participated in a drug abuse program, and to be interested in an alcohol abuse program. Problem alcohol use was reported by 66 (16.3%) of the women in the sample, social use by 161 (39.7%), and non-use by 179 (44.1%). Alcohol use was not found to be related to experience as a patient in a mental institution, but was related to drug use and to interest in a drug abuse program. Those subjects who had used drugs were found to be significantly different from non-users in age, race, alcohol use, and type of criminal charge. Better data collection procedures should be implemented by the Women's Resource Center, and a substance abuse counselor should be hired. More research is needed on women offenders, especially on their mental health and substance abuse problems.