The Impact of Substance Use across the Lifespan on Crime, Incarceration, and Death among Maltreated Individuals

• In Event: Substance Abuse, Violent Female Offenders, and Antisocial Personality Disorder in Abused and Neglected Children Followed Up into Adulthood

Abstract

Prior research has shown that, across the lifespan, substance use problems are associated with engagement in risky behaviors, which often leads to higher rates of criminal arrest, incarceration, and early mortality. In particular, individuals who begin using substances as early as adolescence are more likely to continue using substances across the lifespan and to suffer from substance use disorders in adulthood. In this presentation, we consider the impact of substance use at different points across the lifespan (from adolescence through middle adulthood) on these outcomes (crime, incarceration, and early mortality), as well as differences in trajectories of substance use based on childhood maltreatment. We use data from a large sample of abused and neglected children (n = 908) and matched controls (n = 667) who were followed up and interviewed at several time points over the course of more than 30 years (ages 29, 39, 41, and 56). Findings will examine similarities or differences between the individuals with histories of childhood maltreatment and matched controls on (1) trajectories of substance use, (2) types of substances used, and (3) the impact of substance use on criminal behavior, incarceration, and early death.

Authors

• Jacqueline Horan Fisher, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse

• Cathy Spatz Widom, The Graduate Center, John Jay College / CUNY