Examining the Consequences of the "Prevalent Life Events" of Arrest and Incarceration among an Urban African-American Cohort

Cohort Profile: The Woodlawn Study

The Woodlawn Study is an epidemiologically- defined community cohort study of 1242 Black Americans (51% female and 49% male), who were in first grade in 1966-67 in Woodlawn, a neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The study comprises extensive interview data over the life course including self-, mother-, and/or teacher-reported assessments at ages 6, 16, 32, 42, and 62 (in progress), administrative records (i.e., education, crime, and death records), and census data. These data cover a wide range of focal areas across the life course, including family environment, socioeconomic indicators, education, social integration (e.g., marriage, community engagement, religious involvement) and social support, employment, racial discrimination, substance use, crime/victimization, and mental and physical health, including mortality. Over the past 50 years, Woodlawn research has mapped cumulative disadvantage, substance use, and criminal offending and has identified key risk and protective factors of adversity, resilience, and success across the full life course. In turn, these findings have informed life course theory and policy for a population that experiences significant criminal and health disparities.

Offending and the Long-Term Risk of Death: An Examination of Mid-Life Mortality Among an Urban Black American Cohort

Research on the long-term relationship between offending and mortality is limited, especially among minorities who have higher risk of premature mortality and criminal offending, particularly arrest. Using Cox proportional hazard models, we estimate the relationship between young adult offending and later mortality (to age 58) among a community cohort of Black Americans (n = 1,182). After controlling for a wide range of covariates, results indicate that violent offenders are at heightened risk of mortality from young adulthood through midlife compared with both non-violent only offenders and non-offenders. Further analysis shows that this result is driven by the frequent, largely non-violent, arrests incurred among violent offenders. Criminal justice reform and collaboration with public health practitioners might be fruitful avenues to reduce mortality disparities.

Does Early Adolescent Arrest Alter the Developmental Course of Offending into Young Adulthood?

Adolescent involvement in risky behavior is ubiquitous and normative. Equally pervasive is the rapid decline in risky behavior during the transition to adulthood. Yet, for many, risky behavior results in arrest. Whereas prior research finds that arrest is associated with an increased risk of experiencing a host of detrimental outcomes, less understood is the impact of an arrest on the developmental course of offending compared to what it would have looked like if no arrest had occurred-the counterfactual. This study examines the developmental implications of an arrest early in the life course. The sample (N = 1293) was 37% female, 42% non-white, with a mean age of 13.00 years (SD = 0.82, range = 12-14) at baseline and followed annually for 15 years. Analyses combine propensity score matching and multilevel modeling techniques to estimate the impact of early arrest (i.e., 14 or younger) on the development of offending from adolescence into adulthood. The results indicate that early arrest alters the developmental course of offending in two primary ways. First, early arrest heightens involvement, frequency, and severity of offending throughout adolescence and into early young adulthood even after controlling for subsequent arrests. The detrimental influence of early arrest on the developmental course of offending is found regardless of gender or race/ethnicity. Second, even among youth with an early arrest, offending wanes over time with self-reported offending among all youth nearly absent by the mid- to late-twenties. The findings advance understanding of the developmental implications of early arrest beyond typical and expected offending.

Long-term Consequences of Criminal Justice System Intervention: The Impact of Young Adult Arrest on Midlife Health Behaviors

While there is a growing literature on the relationship between incarceration and health, few studies have expanded the investigation of criminal justice system involvement and health to include the more common intervention of arrest. This study uses a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the long-term effect of arrest in young adulthood on health behaviors in midlife for African Americans. We use propensity score matching methods and gender-specific multivariate regression analyses to equate those who did and did not incur an arrest in young adulthood from a subsample (n = 683) of the Woodlawn cohort, an African American community cohort followed from childhood into midlife. The results suggest that, for men, having been arrested in young adulthood has a direct effect on smoking, daily drinking, and risky sexual behaviors into midlife while young adult arrest does not seem to impact midlife health risk behaviors for women. This study adds health risk behaviors to the growing list of detrimental outcomes, such as crime, drug use, education, and mental health that are related to criminal justice contact for African American men, in particular.

Police Stops and Adolescent Substance Use: Findings From the United Kingdom Millennium Cohort Study

PURPOSE

The aim of this study is to investigate associations between police stops and adolescent substance use among a large, representative sample of adolescents in the United Kingdom (UK).

METHODS

Data from the three most recent sweeps of the UK Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative contemporary birth cohort of children born in the UK between September 2000 and January 2002, were analyzed in 2021 (N = 10,345). Lifetime police stops are assessed at age 14 (Sweep 6, 2015) and a diverse set of adolescent substance use behaviors are assessed at age 17 (Sweep 7, 2018). Weights are used to account for sample design and multiple imputation for missing data.

RESULTS

Youth experiencing police stops by the age of 14 (14.72%) reported significantly higher engagement in substance use behaviors at age 17, including frequent binge drinking (adjusted relative risk ratio [ARRR] = 3.56, confidence interval [CI] = 2.80-4.03), cigarette use (ARRR = 3.97, CI = 3.26-4.84), e-cigarette use (ARRR = 2.22, CI = 1.69-2.93), cannabis use (ARRR = 3.63, CI = 2.88-4.57), and illicit drug use (adjusted incidence rate ratio = 3.06, CI = 2.45-3.81). Ancillary analyses revealed that findings linking police stops to substance use emerge across distinct stop features (e.g., questioned vs. warned), following adjustment for substance use at age 14, and when examining substance use initiation after the age of 14.

CONCLUSIONS

Police officers should be trained to effectively communicate and interact with youth to mitigate adverse sequelae of stops. Youth may also benefit from mental health and substance use screenings as well as counseling care following these events.

Decolonizing drug policy

This paper reviews evidence of how drug control has been used to uphold colonial power structures in select countries. It demonstrates the racist and xenophobic impact of drug control policy and proposes a path to move beyond oppressive systems and structures. The 'colonization of drug control' refers to the use of drug control by states in Europe and America to advance and sustain the systematic exploitation of people, land and resources and the racialized hierarchies, which were established under colonial control and continue to dominate today. Globally, Black, Brown and Indigenous peoples are disproportionately targeted for drug law enforcement and face discrimination across the criminal system. These communities face higher arrest, prosecution and incarceration rates for drug offenses than other communities, such as majority populations, despite similar rates of drug use and selling among (and between) different races. Current drug policies have contributed to an increase in drug-related deaths, overdoses and sustained transnational criminal enterprises at the expense of the lives of people who use drugs, their families and greater society. This review provides further evidence of the need to reform the current system. It outlines a three-pillared approach to rebuilding drug policy in a way that supports health, dignity and human rights, consisting of: (1) the decriminalization of drugs and their use; (2) an end to the mass incarceration of people who use drugs; (3) the redirection of funding away from ineffective and punitive drug control and toward health and social programs.

Knowledge of the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act and possession of a naloxone kit among people recently released from prison

PURPOSE

This study aims to describe knowledge of Canada's Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act (GSDOA) and take home naloxone (THN) training and kit possession among people being released from provincial correctional facilities in British Columbia.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

The authors conducted surveys with clients of the Unlocking the Gates Peer Health Mentoring program on their release. The authors compared the characteristics of people who had and had not heard of the GSDOA and who were in possession of a THN kit.

FINDINGS

In this study, 71% people had heard of the GSDOA, and 55.6% were in possession of a THN kit. This study found that 99% of people who had heard of the GSDOA indicated that they would call 911 if they saw an overdose. Among people who perceived themselves to be at risk of overdose, 28.3% did not have a THN kit. Only half (52%) of participants had a mobile phone, but 100% of those with a phone said they would call 911 if they witnessed an overdose.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

The authors found that people with knowledge of the GSDOA were likely to report that they would call 911 for help with an overdose. Education about the GSDOA should be a standard component of naloxone training in correctional facilities. More than one in four people at risk of overdose were released without a naloxone kit, highlighting opportunities for training and distribution. Access to a cellphone is important in enabling calls to 911 and should be included in discharge planning.

The National Death Index as a Source of Homicide Data: A Methodological Exposition of Promises and Pitfalls for Criminologists

Criminologists largely rely on national de-identified data sources to study homicide in the United States. The National Death Index (NDI), a comprehensive and well-established database compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics, is an untapped source of homicide data that offers identifiable linkages to other data sources while retaining national coverage. This study's five aims follow. First, we review the data sources in articles published in Homicide Studies over the past decade. Second, we describe the NDI, including its origins, procedures, and uses. Third, we outline the procedures for linking a police gang intelligence database to the NDI. Fourth, we introduce the St. Louis Gang Member-Linked Mortality Files database, which is composed of 3,120 police-identified male gang members in the St. Louis area linked to NDI records. Finally, we report on preliminary cause-of-death findings. We conclude by outlining the benefits and drawbacks of the NDI as a source of homicide data for criminologists.

Comparing mortality and healthcare utilization in the year following a paramedic-attended non-fatal overdose among people who were and were not transported to hospital: A prospective cohort study using linked administrative health data

BACKGROUND

As the overdose emergency continues in British Columbia (BC), paramedic-attended overdoses are increasing, as is the proportion of people not transported to hospital following an overdose. This study investigated risk of death and subsequent healthcare utilization for people who were and were not transported to hospital after a paramedic-attended non-fatal overdose.

METHODS

Using a linked administrative health data set which includes all overdoses that come into contact with health services in BC, we conducted a prospective cohort study of people who experienced a paramedic-attended non-fatal overdose between 2015 and 2016. People were followed for 365 days after the index event. The primary outcomes assessed were all-cause mortality and overdose-related death. Additionally, we examined healthcare utilization after the index event.

RESULTS

In this study, 8659 (84%) people were transported and 1644 (16%) were not transported to hospital at the index overdose event. There were 279 overdose deaths (2.7% of people, 59.4% of deaths) during follow-up. There was no significant difference in risk of overdose-related death, though people not transported had higher odds of a subsequent non-fatal overdose event captured in emergency department and outpatient records within 90 days. People transported to hospital had higher odds of using hospital and outpatient services for any reason within 365 days.

CONCLUSIONS

Transport to hospital after a non-fatal overdose is an opportunity to provide care for underlying and chronic conditions. There is a need to better understand factors that contribute to non-transport, particularly among people aged 20-59 and people without chronic conditions.

What Protects Those at High Risk from Criminal Justice Contact Despite the Odds? A Negative Case Analysis

Criminal justice contact is a prevalent, if not expected, life event for many high-risk individuals with deleterious consequences; yet, many individuals at high risk are able to avoid this contact (i.e. negative cases exist). In this study, we draw on the life course framework and utilize negative case analysis to (1) estimate the prevalence of criminal justice avoidance within a sample of structurally high-risk Black men and (2) explore the individual, familial and contextual factors in childhood and adolescence that distinguish these negative cases. One's own 'on-time' and one's siblings' education emerge as particularly strong protective factors suggesting that the presence of unique protection, as opposed to the absence of risk, may be most salient. Theoretical implications are discussed.

What's drugs got to do with it? Examining the relationship between drug onset and duration with criminal outcomes in an African American cohort

BACKGROUND

The association of drug use onset and duration with criminal careers has rarely been studied over the life course among African Americans, who are disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system.

METHODS

This study uses data from a community cohort of urban African Americans, first assessed at age 6 (n = 1242) and followed into midlife. Data come from both self-reports (n = 1053 in adulthood) and official crime records (n = 1217). Regression analyses among those who used marijuana, cocaine, and/or heroin and had complete arrest data (n = 614) assess the association between adolescent vs. adult initiation, short vs. long duration of use, and their interaction with the outcomes of arrest, incarceration, and criminal career length, as well as meeting criteria for a drug use disorder.

RESULTS

Findings show that onset and duration are highly related, but when independent effects of duration and onset are assessed, only duration is a statistically significant predictor of all four crime outcomes, as well as a predictor of meeting criteria for a drug use disorder in adjusted regression models. Associations of duration with arrests held for all crime types (i.e., drug, property, violence). Adolescent vs. adult drug onset only predicted meeting lifetime criteria for a drug use disorder. The interaction of onset and duration was not statistically significant in any models. No appreciable differences were observed in gender specific models.

DISCUSSION

Findings suggest that shortening drug use duration may have a greater impact on reducing the association of drug use with crime for African Americans than delaying onset.

Sent Home versus Being Arrested: The Relative Influence of School and Police Intervention on Drug Use

Prior research has demonstrated that school disciplinary practices lead to juvenile justice intervention or the "school-to-prison pipeline" and that juvenile justice intervention leads to adversities, including drug-using behavior, in adolescence and adult life. Yet, it is not clear which form of official intervention, school suspension and expulsion or police arrest, is more predictive of drug use among young people. Using data from the Rochester Youth Developmental Study, we examined both the immediate, concurrent influence of school and police intervention on drug use during adolescence and the long-term, cumulative impact of school and police intervention during adolescence on subsequent drug use in young established adulthood. The results indicate that school exclusionary practices appeared to be more predictive of drug use than police arrest during both adolescence and young adulthood. Additionally, such negative effects mainly exhibited among minority subjects, and the effects by gender appeared contingent on developmental stages.

The Impact of the Urban Neighborhood Environment on Marijuana Trajectories During Emerging Adulthood

Although there is little difference in rates of marijuana use between White and Black youth, Blacks have significantly higher rates of marijuana use and disorder in young adulthood. Theory suggests that factors tied to social disadvantage may explain this disparity, and neighborhood setting may be a key exposure. This study sought to identify trajectories of marijuana use in an urban sample during emerging adulthood, neighborhood contexts that predict these trajectories and social role transitions or "turning points" that may redirect them. Data are from a longitudinal cohort study of 378 primarily Black emerging adults who were first sampled in childhood based on their residence in low-income neighborhoods in Baltimore City and followed up annually. Group-based trajectory modeling identified three groups: No Use (68.8%), Declining Use (19.6%), and Chronic Use (11.7%). Living in close proximity to an alcohol outlet, and living in a neighborhood with more female-headed households and higher rates of violent crime increased the odds of membership in the Chronic Use group relative to No Use. Living in a neighborhood with more positive social activity increased the odds of membership in the Declining Use group relative to No Use. Not receiving a high school diploma or GED, pregnancy, and parenting also increased the odds of membership in the Declining Use group relative to No Use. These findings provide support that minority youth living in socially toxic and disordered neighborhoods are at increased risk of continuing on a trajectory of marijuana use during emerging adulthood while positive social activity in neighborhoods has the potential to redirect these negative trajectories. Besides taking on the responsibilities of parenting, emerging adults in the marijuana user groups had similar educational and family outcomes, suggesting that early marijuana use may have long-term implications.

Explaining continuity in substance use: The role of criminal justice system involvement over the life course of an urban African American prospective cohort

BACKGROUND

African Americans are disproportionately burdened by substance use consequences and criminal justice system involvement, yet their interrelationship over the life course is not well understood. This study aimed to assess how substance use, crime, and justice system involvement may influence one another from adolescence to midlife.

METHODS

Data come from a community cohort of urban African Americans first assessed in childhood and followed up into midlife (n = 1242, 606 males, 636 females). We draw on interview data and local, state, and federal criminal records. Participants were assessed at ages 6, 16, 32, and 42, with additional record retrieval at age 52. Utilizing structural equation modeling, we estimate pathways between substance use, criminal behavior, and arrests over time by gender.

RESULTS

For males, significant paths were found between childhood behavioral problems and adolescent substance use, delinquency, and police interactions. For females, a significant path was found between childhood behavioral problems and only adolescent delinquency. We observed continuity between substance use and between arrest constructs from adolescence through midlife for men only. Direct paths were found between substance use and later arrests for both males and females. Paths were also observed between arrests and later substance use for both genders.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings of reciprocal relationships highlight the critical need to break the cycle of substance use and crime and point to specific times in the life course when intervention is necessary. Findings introduce the potential role of the criminal justice system as a key intervention agent in redirecting substance use careers.

Understanding the Mechanisms of Desistance at the Intersection of Race, Gender, and Neighborhood Context

OBJECTIVES

This study tests theorized mechanisms of desistance, and whether the process of desistance is conditioned by social structural position.

METHODS

We investigate how marriage promotes desistance from crime among urban African American males raised in the Woodlawn community, a disadvantaged neighborhood in Chicago. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we test the resiliency of the marriage effect by observing offending trajectories following marital dissolution; is the marriage effect conditional upon staying married, indicating situational effects? or does the effect persist when marriage is taken away, indicating enduring effects? Further, we test if the process of desistance is conditional upon contextual disadvantage.

RESULTS

While initial findings show an increase in violent and property offending upon divorce, further analysis shows evidence that this effect differs by neighborhood structural context; the increase in offending upon divorce is apparent only for African American men who experience continued disadvantage across the life course. Those who moved to relatively more advantaged areas by adulthood show no increase in offending upon marital dissolution.

CONCLUSIONS

How marriage matters for desistance is partially influenced by social structural position; context matters. These findings invigorate criminological research on the mechanisms driving the marriage effect and provide insight into the interactive nature of person and context.