The Interrelationship of Substance Use and Crime over the Life Course of an Urban African American Cohort

• In Event: Relationship of Drugs, Crime, and Criminal Justice Involvement Across the Life Course

Abstract

While it is readily apparent that the relationship between drug use and crime is strong, the direction and impact of this relationship is complex, and requires further explanation. This analysis uses data from the Woodlawn Study, a community cohort study of urban African Americans from Chicago who were assessed at 4 times points from age 6 through midlife (age 42). The data include self-reported substance use and criminal involvement, including completing modules on substance use disorders, offending, and incarceration across adolescence, young adulthood, and midlife. We also collected arrest records spanning ages 17-52. To assess how early life drug use affects crime and criminal justice involvement in the short- and long-term, we will conduct structural equation modeling. We will test the hypothesis that substance use has an effect on criminal justice system involvement, both directly and indirectly through drug, property, and violent crime perpetration. We will also test reciprocal effects assessing how adolescent delinquency, adult criminal behavior and adult criminal justice system involvement affect drug involvement over the life course. Models will be conducted separately by gender. The knowledge gained through this study will help identify developmental periods of greatest risk, which is critical for informing the timing of interventions.

Authors

• Kerry M Green, University of Maryland

• Elaine Eggleston Doherty, University of Missouri-St. Louis

• Margaret E Ensminger, Johns Hopkins University