Using life event calendars to examine the effects of substance use in serious adolescent offenders

• In Event: Using and Analyzing Life Event Calendars in Criminological Research

Abstract

Life event calendars offer an opportunity to address questions about intra-individual effects of events (e.g., periods of institutional confinement) or changes in patterns of behaviors (e.g., reductions in associations with antisocial peers) on outcomes of policy interest (e.g., arrest). One advantage of this type of data rests on its ability to identify the order of events of changes in behavior and outcomes. A second advantage is that estimates of within individual change can often be estimated from multiple observations of the effects within the same individual. This paper will use data from the Pathways to Desistance study to investigate how changes in substance use are related to patterns of antisocial behavior (increases or decreases in offending) as well as adoption of adult roles (e.g., increases in psychosocial maturity, spells of employment) in a sample of serious adolescent offenders. These data sets provide comprehensive information on 1,354 juvenile felony offenders as they make the transition into early adulthood. Several co-occurring, time-varying alternative influences on these outcomes will also be tested for their simultaneous effects. The results will highlight the independent and strong effects of substance use on outcomes related to future criminal involvement.

Authors

• Edward P. Mulvey, University of Pittsburgh

• Carol Ann Schubert, University of Pittsburgh