Overcoming the Odds: Assessing Predictors of Positive and Negative Adult Outcomes Among At-Risk Adolescents

• In Event: Structure, Context, and Choice: Advancing Life-Course Criminology

Abstract

Life course research has found that at-risk adolescents (e.g., those who experience criminal justice contact) are less likely to experience positive adult outcomes (e.g., graduate high school, be involved in quality romantic relationships, attain stable employment) and more likely to experience negative life events in adulthood (e.g., offending, arrest, incarceration). At the same time, extant findings have suggested that some, if not most, at-risk adolescents are able to overcome the odds and have relatively successful experiences in adulthood. Little attention has been devoted to understanding differences in adult experiences among at-risk adolescents. The purpose of this paper is two-fold: First, to assess the structural, social, personal, and internal factors that predict positive and negative adult outcomes among at-risk adolescents. Second, to examine whether the impact of internal motivation for reform is moderated by one’s level of structural disadvantage. We investigate these ideas using panel data from the Pathways to Desistance study. Preliminary findings indicate that a host of structural, social, and internal factors are associated with pro-social successes in young adulthood. We further find that internal motivations for success are important across all levels of structural disadvantage.

Authors

• Kyle Thomas, University of Colorado Boulder

• Jillian Turanovic, Florida State University