Employment, Education and Crime During Emerging Adulthood

• In Event: Posters II

Abstract

The present study identifies how participation in employment and education during emerging adulthood effects involvement in criminal activities across differing levels of neighborhood disadvantage. Previous research has found that employment can reduce participation in criminal activities in the lives of older adults. Conversely, the opposite effect is found concerning employment in the lives of adolescents. This study fills a gap looking at the time in-between, for persons in emerging adulthood. I also examine whether the effects of education and employment on crime are additive or interactive, and explore whether the association between education, employment, and crime is conditioned by neighborhood disadvantage. Using data from Wave 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), I find that employment and education both reduce involvement in criminal activities for emerging adults, net of controls. Additionally, an interaction effect between current employment and current enrollment in school also reduces crime. The patterns do not, however, appear to vary by neighborhood disadvantage. I conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for life course theory and desistance research broadly.

Author

• Catherine M. Pape, Bowling Green State University