TY - JOUR
T1 - Do the adult criminal careers of African Americans fit the "facts"?
AU - Doherty, Elaine Eggleston
AU - Ensminger, Margaret E.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation and the National Institute of Drug Abuse R01 DA022366 . We want to thank John Laub for his expert guidance in our coding of the criminal histories and extend a special thanks to Judy Robertson for her invaluable research assistance. We would also like to thank the Woodlawn Community Board for their guidance during our efforts to collect the updated criminal justice records.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2014/11/1
Y1 - 2014/11/1
N2 - Purpose: A major gap in the criminal career research is our understanding of offending among African Americans, especially beyond early adulthood. In light of this gap, this study describes the criminal career patterns of a cohort of African American males and females. Methods: This paper uses official criminal history data spanning ages 17 to 52 from the Woodlawn Study, a community cohort of 1,242 urban African American males and females. We use basic descriptive statistics as well as group-based modeling to provide a detailed description of the various dimensions of their adult criminal careers. Results: We find cumulative prevalence rates similar to those for African Americans from national probability sample estimates, yet participation in offending extends farther into midlife than expected with a substantial proportion of the cohort still engaged in offending into their 30s. Conclusions: The descriptive analyses contribute to the larger body of knowledge regarding the relationship between age and crime and the unfolding of the criminal career for African American males and females. The applicability of existing life course and developmental theories is discussed in light of the findings.
AB - Purpose: A major gap in the criminal career research is our understanding of offending among African Americans, especially beyond early adulthood. In light of this gap, this study describes the criminal career patterns of a cohort of African American males and females. Methods: This paper uses official criminal history data spanning ages 17 to 52 from the Woodlawn Study, a community cohort of 1,242 urban African American males and females. We use basic descriptive statistics as well as group-based modeling to provide a detailed description of the various dimensions of their adult criminal careers. Results: We find cumulative prevalence rates similar to those for African Americans from national probability sample estimates, yet participation in offending extends farther into midlife than expected with a substantial proportion of the cohort still engaged in offending into their 30s. Conclusions: The descriptive analyses contribute to the larger body of knowledge regarding the relationship between age and crime and the unfolding of the criminal career for African American males and females. The applicability of existing life course and developmental theories is discussed in light of the findings.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2014.09.006
DO - 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2014.09.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 25605979
AN - SCOPUS:84907810208
VL - 42
SP - 517
EP - 526
JO - Journal of Criminal Justice
JF - Journal of Criminal Justice
SN - 0047-2352
IS - 6
ER -