Substance Involvement and the Trajectory of Criminal Offending in Young Males

Abstract

The current study investigated the influence of substance involvement on the trajectory of delinquency. Data were from 625 Buffalo, NY males aged 16-19, interviewed three times at 18-month intervals. Hierarchical linear models were fit separately for respondents with increasing and declining delinquency. In the increasing group, aIcohol involvment was associated with a higher starting point (intercept), and alcohol dependence and drug consequences were associated with a faster increase. In the declining group, alcohol dependence and drug consequences were associated with a higher starting point, and frequency of drug use was associated with a slower decline. Alcohol involvement is important in the early delinquent career whereas illicit drug use delays maturing out of delinquency. In a further analysis, substance involvement variables were time-varying covariates in the within-subjects model and controls in the between-subjects model. Respondents' alcohol and other drug use varied across time in sync with their criminal offending.

Alcohol's Role in Men's Use of Coercion to Obtain Unprotected Sex

“…Longitudinal surveys of adolescent males have found strong relationships between alcohol use, delinquency, and violent behavior (Moffitt, Caspi, Harrington, and Milne, 2002; Welte, Barnes, Hoffman, Wieczorek, and Zhang, 2005). Alcohol administration studies, which have focused on aggression toward someone of the same sex, have consistently demonstrated that moderate doses of alcohol increase men's aggressive behavior (for reviews see Chermack and Giancola, 1997; Ito, Miller, and Pollock, 1996).…”

Victimization, psychological distress and subsequent offending among youth

“…Informed consent was obtained from both respondents. Separate, face-to-face, structured interviews were conducted by trained interviewers at the Research Institute on Addictions (Welte, Barnes, Hoffman, Wieczorek, & Zhang, 2005). …”

“…In the initial wave 74% (n=625) of the households identified contained an eligible male who agreed to participate in the structured interview phase of the study (Welte et al, 2005). The racial composition of the original sample consisted of 49% white, 45% African American and 6% from other racial/ethnic backgrounds (Zhang, Wieczorek, & Welte, 2002).…”

Gender as a Moderator in Predicting Re-Arrest Among Treated Drug-Involved Offenders

“…Many parolees are returned to prison as a result of violating their conditions of parole because of substance abuse (Lynch & Sabol, 2001). Drug use also has been found to significantly impair young men's ability to mature out of delinquency (Welte, Barnes, Hoffman, Wieczorek, & Zhang, 2005; Zhang, Welte & Wieczorek, 2002). For example, among a sample of young delinquent men, alcohol dependence and negative consequences of drug use were found to be associated with a more rapid increase in criminal activity (Welte et al, 2005).…”

“…Drug use also has been found to significantly impair young men's ability to mature out of delinquency (Welte, Barnes, Hoffman, Wieczorek, & Zhang, 2005; Zhang, Welte & Wieczorek, 2002). For example, among a sample of young delinquent men, alcohol dependence and negative consequences of drug use were found to be associated with a more rapid increase in criminal activity (Welte et al, 2005). Moreover, studies involving drug treatment clients have demonstrated that reduced drug use is associated with reduced posttreatment criminal activities (Anglin & Perrochet, 1998; Farabee, Shen, Hser, Grella, & Anglin, 2001; Federal Bureau of Prisons, 1998; Fletcher, Tims, & Brown, 1997), further supporting the link between drug use severity and criminal conduct.…”