In Police Contact Early in the Life Course a Health Risk?

• In Event: EDLC: onset and development of criminal careers

Abstract

The consequences of criminal legal system contact are well documented and associated with increases in subsequent offending, detriments to physical and mental health, unemployment, and drug use. Much of this research has focused on adulthood and/or the impact of incarceration experiences. Exposure to early stages of the criminal legal not only affects a larger swath of the population but these relatively “light touches” such as being stopped by the police or arrested can negatively affect an array of life course outcomes. The salience of this exposure may be amplified when it occurs early in the life course. This research examines the effect of police contact early in the life course on health outcomes into adulthood. We are particularly interested in assessing whether the experience of arrest is stable over time or if the impact is dynamic, either intensifying or decaying with age. We use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97) which includes youth with varied criminal legal system experiences, followed into adulthood. We use propensity score modeling with the aim of isolating the impact of experiencing an arrest early in the life course on trajectories of physical health, mental health, and premature mortality. We discuss the implications of the relationship between police contact and later life health outcomes.

Authors

• Bianca Bersani, University of Maryland

• Wade C Jacobsen, University of Maryland

• Lauren Porter, University of Maryland

• Guyu Sun, University of Maryland, College Park