Adult Criminal Involvement: A Cross-Sectional Inquiry Into Correlates and Mechanisms Over the Life Course

Published date01 March 2012
DOI10.1177/0734016811432921
Date01 March 2012
Subject MatterArticles
Adult Criminal Involvement:
A Cross-Sectional Inquiry Into
Correlates and Mechanisms
Over the Life Course
Lara DePadilla
1
, Molly M. Perkins
1
,
Kirk W. Elifson
1
, and Claire E. Sterk
1
Abstract
In this article, the authors examine the relative contribution of four domains of predictors that have
been linked to adult criminal involvement: (a) sociodemographic characteristics, (b) family-of-origin
factors, (c) proximal processes developed during adolescence,and (d) current lifestyle and situational
factors. Cross-sectional data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 242 community-
recruited adults. Data analysis involved negative binomial regression. Being male, family size, juvenile
delinquency,aggression, living with someoneinvolved in illegal activity, and recentviolent victimization
were independently associated with nonviolent criminal involvement. Aggression, association with
deviant peers, and recent violent victimization were independently associated with violent criminal
involvement. Juvenile delinquencyand aggression mediated the affect of multiple family-of-origin char-
acteristicson nonviolent criminal involvement and aggression mediated theeffect of childhood physical
abuse on violent criminal involvement. The results emphasize the importance of investigating both
antecedents and proximal risk factors predictive of different types of criminal involvement, which,
in turn, will assist in developing risk-focused prevention and intervention programs.
Keywords
crime over the lifecourse, crime/delinquency theory, individual theories of crime causation, crime/
delinquency theory, structural theories of crime causation, crime/delinquency theory
Introduction
The link between adult criminal involvement and social disadvantage has been widely explored
(Fergusson, Swain-Campbell, & Norwood, 2004). Specifically, the role of poverty (Conger et al.,
1
Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA,
USA
Corresponding Author:
Lara DePadilla, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health,
1518 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Email: ldepadi@emory.edu
Criminal Justice Review
37(1) 110-126
ª2012 Georgia State University
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DOI: 10.1177/0734016811432921
http://cjr.sagepub.com
1992), low social capital (Farrington, 1990; Sampson & Laub, 1993), limited opportunities for
upward social mobility (Agnew, 1999, 2005; Merton, 1938), and neighborhood disorder (Stewart
& Simons, 2006; Stewart, Simons, & Conger, 2002; Warner, 2003) have been examined. Research-
ers also have shown that adult criminal involvement is linked to cumulative disadvantage over the
course of one’s life (Caspi, 1998; Fergusson et al., 2004; Moffitt, Caspi, Dickson, Silva, & Stanton,
1996; South & Messner, 2000). Moreover, being exposed to adult criminal involvement as a means
to gain social status teaches the younger generation it is an acceptable behavior. Shaw and McKay
(1969) were among the first to highlight such positive reinforcement.
Others have cautioned against directly connecting preadult social disadvantage to adult criminal
involvement and recommend consideration of mediating factors at the individual, familial and peer
level (Fergusson, Swain-Campbell, & Norwood, 2004). This study builds on this recommendation
by expanding on the ecological model (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and the life course perspective
(Sampson & Laub, 1992). The ecological model provides a means of organizing potential contextual
factors based on proximity to the individual. It encompasses a set of nested systems that range from
the micro (e.g., sociodemographic characteristics) to the meso (e.g., familial) and, ultimately, the
macro level (e.g., health care policies) over the life course. Each level contributes to the pathway
to adult criminal behavior. A complimentary viewpoint for a study of adult criminal behavior that
takes into account childhood and adolescent experiences is the l ife course perspective (Samps on &
Laub, 1992). In his later work, Bronfenbrenner (1986) incorporated life course theory. The role of
time was further woven into an extension of the ecological model as repeated interactions in a
child’s proximate environment called ‘‘proximal processes’’ (Bronfenbrenner, 1999, p. 5). Such
processes affect a developing child and are influenced by the child and their environment over
time. Therefore, the processes a person undergoes are considered in conjunction with the person’s
individual characteristics as well as the context in which the person lives, over time. The integra-
tion of an ecological model and a life course paradigm allows for an inquiry into adult criminal
involvement that considers individual, familial, peer, and current factors (Bronfenbrenner,
1986, 1999; Sampson & Laub, 1992).
Sociodemographic Characteristics
Focusing on the context of individual daily lives allows for insights into the complex set of factors
associated with adult criminal involvement (Sampson & Laub, 2005; Stewart, Elifson, & Sterk,
2004; Theall, Elifson, Sterk, & Stewart, 2007). For example, racial differences in offending and sub-
sequent criminal justice involvement have been linked with conditions characteristic of segregated
inner-city neighborhoods such as limited employment options, an active underground economy, rela-
tively high levelsof violence, and low social control(Sampson & Laub, 1992, 1993, 2005; Sampson&
Wilson, 1995). Gender differences in criminal involvement have also been linked to broader contex-
tual factors such as genderrole expectations. The latter oftenare presented as an explanation for more
criminal involvement among men than women (Alarid, Burton, & Cullen, 2000).
Family of Origin
Family-of-origin characteristics provide a historical context in which to place one’s current life. In
Bronfenbrenner’s model (1999), the family is placed one level beyond the individual in the meso-
system. Adult criminal involvement has been associated with a number of factors that fall into the
mesosystem of familial influences such as adverse childhood experiences, including negative child-
hood learning experiences, inadequate social bonding, parental neglect, and a lack of family cohe-
sion (Farrington, Barnes, & Lambert, 1996; Hoffmann, 2003; Kierkus & Baer, 2002; Sorenson &
Brownfield, 1995). In addition to these processes, family characteristics such as family size have
DePadilla et al. 111

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