Identifying and predicting criminal career profiles from adolescence to age 39
Corresponding Author
Bo-Kyung Elizabeth Kim
USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
Correspondence
Bo-Kyung Elizabeth Kim, USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Email: bkelizak@usc.edu
Search for more papers by this authorAmanda B. Gilman
Washington State Center for Court Research Administrative Office of the Courts, Olympia, Washington, USA
Search for more papers by this authorKevin P. Tan
School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA
Search for more papers by this authorRick Kosterman
Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Search for more papers by this authorJennifer A. Bailey
Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Search for more papers by this authorRichard F. Catalano
Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Search for more papers by this authorJ. David Hawkins
Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Bo-Kyung Elizabeth Kim
USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
Correspondence
Bo-Kyung Elizabeth Kim, USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Email: bkelizak@usc.edu
Search for more papers by this authorAmanda B. Gilman
Washington State Center for Court Research Administrative Office of the Courts, Olympia, Washington, USA
Search for more papers by this authorKevin P. Tan
School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA
Search for more papers by this authorRick Kosterman
Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Search for more papers by this authorJennifer A. Bailey
Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Search for more papers by this authorRichard F. Catalano
Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Search for more papers by this authorJ. David Hawkins
Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Search for more papers by this authorFunding information: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Grant/Award Numbers: R01DA024411, R01DA033956, R01DA09679, R25DA035692
Abstract
Few longitudinal studies are capable of identifying criminal career profiles using both self-report and official court data beyond the 30s. The current study aims to identify criminal career profiles across three developmental periods using self-report data, validate these profiles with official court records and determine early childhood predictors. Data came from the Seattle Social Development Project (n = 808). Latent Class Analysis was used to examine criminal careers from self-reported data during adolescence (aged 14–18), early adulthood (aged 21–27) and middle adulthood (aged 30–39). Official court records were used to validate the classes. Childhood risk and promotive factors measured at ages 11–12 were used to predict classes. Findings revealed four career classes: non-offending (35.6%), adolescence-limited (33.2%), adult desister (18.3%) and life-course/persistent (12.9%). Official court records are consistent with the description of the classes. Early life school and family environments as well as having antisocial beliefs and friends differentiate membership across the classes. The results of this study, with a gender-balanced and racially diverse sample, bolster the current criminal career knowledge by examining multiple developmental periods into the 30s using both self-report and official court data.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The data are not publicly available due to the nature of this research as it contains information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.
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