Childhood Adversities and Early Adaptation: Their Combined Impact on Adult Crime and Substance Use

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

Abstract

How does early childhood performance affect the relationship between childhood adversity and adult outcomes? To answer this question, we examine the interrelationship of childhood adversity (e.g., income, teenage parenting, parent’s mental health, parent’s education) with early maladaptation (aggression, low academics) to influence life course trajectories to criminal involvement and substance use. Data come from the Woodlawn study, a longitudinal, community cohort study of urban African Americans followed from 1st grade to age 42. Woodlawn, a Chicago neighborhood, was a low income community with high delinquency and crime rates. All children (N=1242) were assessed in 1st grade by teachers and mothers. At age 16, mothers and teenagers were reinterviewed. Adult outcomes were based on follow-ups at age 32 (N=952) and age 42 (N=833). Criminal involvement and substance use in adult years comes from official records and self-reports. Using cluster analysis for first grade factors, we interact these factors with social adaptation to impact later outcomes finding that children with the least adversity and best adaptation had more positive adult outcomes. However, for some outcomes those with more adversity but better adaptation did as well as the more advantaged children. Identifying what can mitigate early adversity may contribute to effective prevention programming.

Authors

• Margaret E Ensminger, Johns Hopkins University

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

• Kerry M Green, University of Maryland

• Cristan Smith, National Institute of Health