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Abstract
Little research has assessed the link between formal police intervention, financial hardship, and the formation and quality of romantic relationships. Using data from the Rochester Youth Development Study, we contribute to this literature by examining effects of police intervention at two time points on marriage stability and romantic relationship quality. We find that police intervention during adolescence is associated with increases in financial hardship during young adulthood, which, in turn, decreases the odds of entering into a stable marriage by age 31 and the extent to which those who have a romantic relationship feel their partner is supportive. Early police intervention also is indirectly associated with a reduction in partner satisfaction and an increase in partner violence via young adult arrest. We conclude that even minimally invasive contact with the criminal justice system during adolescence has long-lasting collateral consequences in the family arena.
Acknowledgements
Official arrest data were provided electronically by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. Points of view, conclusions, and methodological strategies in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the funding agencies or data sources.
Notes
1 Such findings are consistent with a labeling theory approach. However, we do not measure important implications of labeling theory such as the impact of official intervention on one’s self-concept or how one is perceived by others because they are unavailable in these data. At best, we can only infer that the official intervention has had some impact on these processes, which in turn may have impacted the “life chances” described above. The main foci of our study are on these “life chances” as they relate to official intervention.
2 Edin’s (Citation2000, p. 127) interviews with low-income, urban single mothers offer some insight as to how these women perceive “family violence to be a carry-over from street violence.”
3 This is not to suggest that marriages among people who are involved in criminal behavior are necessarily of poor quality. Indeed, Giordano has found that among adolescents involved in delinquency, romantic relationships are not “cold and brittle” (Giordano, Lonardo, Manning, & Longmore, Citation2010), and many adult female offenders have relationships characterized as warm and affectionate. However, she notes that these feelings of warmth “did not always translate into a stable, long-term relationship with outstanding ‘desistance” potential …’ (Giordano, Citation2010, p. 84). High quality marriages to antisocial mates often result in disadvantages that encourage involvement in criminal behavior.
4 Validity of the imputation model was checked by examining time plots and autocorrelation plots (Allison, Citation2001; Yuan, Citation2000), assessing posterior parameter estimates degrees of freedom (Gullion, Chen, & Melteson, Citation2008), and examining pre- and post-imputation descriptive statistics (UCLA Academic Technology Services, Citation2010). Assumptions underlying the imputation model (see Schafer, Citation1997; i.e. normality, data missing at random (MAR), and distinctness of parameters) were evaluated, with no evidence that the assumptions are violated. SAS Proc MI is robust to departures from normality (Allison, Citation2001) and imputation is better than case deletion even in the absence of MAR (Schafer, Citation1997). Therefore, we have confidence in the validity of our imputation model.
5 Specifically, we estimated a two-parameter graded response model to obtain a valid and reliable measure of financial hardship. The sensitivity parameters (i.e. factor loadings) estimated were significant for each indicator (p < .001), suggesting that they strongly relate to the underlying construct. As a sensitivity analysis, we used traditional factor analysis to confirm that the three measures load on one factor (all loadings over .46), which explained 76% of the variance. Of note, because we estimated financial hardship as a latent variable, its standard error will be underestimated in subsequent analyses.
6 The items contained in the variety scales of offending and drug use are as follows. General Crime 10–12 (age 21–23) comprises weapon carrying, public rowdiness, drunkenness, property damage, arson, breaking/entering, theft (≤$5; $5–50; $50–100; and $100+), stolen goods, joyride, car stealing, forgery, credit card fraud, attack with a weapon, other assault, gang fight, throwing things at people, robbery, received payment for having sex, sex without consent, running illegal gambling operation, engaging in illegal gambling, paid someone for sex, DWI, marijuana sale, and hard drug sale. General Delinquency 2–9 (age 14–18) contains all of the items in General Crime 10–12 in addition to runaway, truancy, lying about age, hitchhiking, begging, avoiding payment, fraud, obscene phone calls, and rape. Drug Use 2–9 and Drug Use 10–12 (ages 14–18 and 21–23, respectively) include use of marijuana, inhalant, hallucinogenic, cocaine, crack, heroin, PCP, tranquilizers, downers, and uppers.
7 Note we also estimated models including a squared term, which was not significant in any model.
8 We chose drug use because it was the only variable that was identically measured before and after official intervention.
9 We also stratified models by race. Results were similar to those presented here for African Americans, but there were few significant results for non-African-American subjects.
10 Consistent with the “marriageability” rationale laid out in the introduction of this paper, and given the detrimental economic effects brought about by official intervention, it is the offender’s spouse who would be most likely adversely affected and as a result find the relationship less satisfying and lacking in support. We cannot ascertain whether this is true, or whether an alternative argument, i.e. individuals’ proclivity to marry ex-cons, actually serves to increase romantic involvement (see Sampson & Laub, Citation2003; Sampson et al., Citation2006; for adolescents, see Rebellon & Manasse, Citation2004).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Nicole M. Schmidt
Nicole M. Schmidt is a data analyst at the Institute on Urban Health Research and Practice. Her research interests include juvenile delinquency and deviance, transitions to adulthood, mental health, and quantitative methods.
Giza Lopes
Giza Lopes is a postdoctoral associate at the School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany. Her research interests focus primarily on examining social theories derived from the symbolic-interactionist perspective, such as labeling and medicalization.
Marvin D. Krohn
Marvin D. Krohn is currently a professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law at the University of Florida. He has a long-standing interest in the etiology of delinquency and drug use, focusing primarily on social psychological and life course approaches. For the past 25 years he has been a co-principal investigator on the Rochester Youth Development Study, a three-generation longitudinal panel study targeting those at high risk for serious crime and delinquency. His book (with co-authors Terence P. Thornberry, Alan J. Lizotte, Carolyn A. Smith and Kimberly Tobin), Gangs and Delinquency in Developmental Perspective, was the American Society of Criminology’s recipient of the 2003 Michael J. Hindelang Award for Outstanding Scholarship. He also co-authored Delinquent Behavior (with Don C. Gibbons) and Researching Theories of Crime and Delinquency (with Charis E. Kubrin and Thomas D. Stucky) and has co-edited four compendiums on crime and delinquency. In addition, he has contributed numerous research articles and book chapters.
Alan J. Lizotte
Alan J. Lizotte is a dean and a professor in the School of Criminal Justice, The University at Albany. He is a co-principal investigator on the Rochester Youth Development Study, a 25 year ongoing longitudinal study of juvenile delinquency and drug use covering three generations of subjects. His substantive interests include illegal firearms ownership and use and developmental criminology. In 2003, together with his RYDS coauthors, he was awarded the American Society of Criminology’s Hindelang Award for the book Gangs and Delinquency in Developmental Perspective.