Race Differences in the Effects of Early School Behavior Problems and Substance Use Type on Lifetime Arrest

ABSTRACT

Early behavior problems may correlate with adult offending. However, the relationship between early problem behavior and lifetime arrests among known offenders has received little empirical examination. In addition, few studies have explored how the associations between early problem behavior and lifetime arrests may differ among Whites and Nonwhites. It is crucial to understand how early problem behavior is associated with lifetime offending given the growing number of interventions targeting early problem behavior that has the promise to interrupt criminal careers. This study begins to explore the relationship between early problem behavior and lifetime arrests using a sample of men and women who were recently incarcerated in New Jersey. Findings suggest that early problem behavior and the usage of various drugs impact lifetime arrests; however, these factors differ between Whites and Nonwhites. Policy implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Notes

¹ We provide a more detailed discussion of missing data in the results section.

² All tests presented were also conducted excluding the single respondent who reported being arrested 316 times and were also conducted without truncating the value, leaving it at 316. The results were substantively identical in direction and significance to the results presented here. However, this outlier had undue influence on the mean comparisons conducted and so we presented the value as truncated providing a better description of arrests for the sample and the subsamples presented.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Thomas Baker

Thomas Baker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida. His research interests include Corrections, Deviant Behavior, and Life-course Criminology. He is particularly interested in work involving people who are incarcerated and better understanding their attitudes and experiences.

James V. Ray

James Ray is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida.  His areas of research expertise include understanding the development of dispositional/personality traits (e.g., psychopathy, impulsivity, and aggression) and their causal role in antisocial behavior. He is particularly interested in how these factors interact with contextual/environmental factors (e.g., parenting, neighborhood, peers) to understand juvenile offending behavior.

Kristen Zgoba

Kristen M. Zgoba is an Assistant Professor in the Criminology & Criminal Justice Department at Florida International University. Her research interests include the use of violence, policy evaluation and corrections. Her recent publications appear in Sexual Aubse, Criminal Justice Policy Review and the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology.