NCJ Number
215719
Journal
Journal of Quantitative Criminology Volume: 22 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2006 Pages: 215-239
Date Published
September 2006
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This study investigated patterns of criminal behavior as individuals transitioned from adolescence to adulthood, with a focus on whether criminal behavior desisted or is displaced.
Abstract
The findings revealed that although desistance or termination of criminal activity was present, it was the displacement of criminal activity that was most evident as adolescents transitioned into adulthood. Patterns of criminal behavior are altered but not terminated as offending adolescents grow into adults. More specifically, as adolescents transition into adulthood there is a clear decline in vandalism, violence, and theft however patterns of hard drug use, marijuana use, and general deviance remained stable into adulthood. Data were drawn from the National Survey of Youth, a longitudinal study involving a national probability sample of households based on a multistage, cluster sampling design. The current analysis relied on data from 1,383 respondents who answered the survey during their early adulthood. Six measures of self-reported criminal activity were analyzed: vandalism, theft, violence, minor and serious drug use, and general deviance. The analysis involved the integration of methods used for stratification research so that offending patterns could be linked over time. Follow-up studies should continue to develop and apply models of behavior and desistance that expand the range of anti-social acts evident during adolescence and adulthood. Tables, figure, footnotes, Appendixes, references