Drug Abuse and Crime Across the Life Course in an African American Population

描述(由申请人提供)：在国家犯罪统计中，非裔美国人在逮捕和监禁以及受害方面的比例不成比例，特别是在与毒品有关的和暴力犯罪方面。他们参与犯罪往往只是公认的一系列负面经历和情况的一个组成部分，包括吸毒问题、社会经济劣势和不良的身心健康，有时在儿童时期就很明显。这给个人、家庭和社会带来了巨大的代价，但我们对这些模式在整个生命过程中的发展知之甚少。尽管存在这些明显的差异，但很少有研究考察非洲裔美国人社区人口，特别是成年后，随着时间的推移，吸毒和犯罪行为的发展。我们打算研究生命中风险的时间和来源，以更好地了解非裔美国人在与刑事司法问题有关的健康和社会后果方面的差异。为此，我们请求支持分析现有的犯罪和毒品数据，这些数据涵盖了芝加哥市中心一年级非裔美国儿童35年的生活。这项前瞻性发展研究(伍德劳恩项目)始于1966-67年，最近一次随访是在2002-3年，年龄42-43岁，并在青春期和成年期早期(32-33岁)进行中期评估。研究人群在成年后有很高的吸毒和犯罪活动水平。在拟议的项目中，我们将重点研究药物滥用和犯罪的相互关系，审查药物滥用、犯罪活动和参与刑事司法系统的预测因素和后果。使用来自队列成员、母亲、面试者和官方犯罪记录的数据，我们将确定1)一生中吸毒和犯罪行为的模式；2)以后吸毒、犯罪活动/行为和参与刑事司法系统的个人和背景预测因素；3)吸毒、犯罪行为和参与刑事司法系统的社会、经济和健康后果。特别令人感兴趣的是，青春期和成年初期的吸毒如何与被捕和监禁的风险有关，反之，早期逮捕和监禁如何影响后来的吸毒和犯罪行为。这些信息将进一步加深我们对犯罪和吸毒的原因和后果的理解，并为在生命过程中不同阶段的干预措施的设计提供信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): African Americans are disproportionately represented in national crime statistics for arrests and incarceration as well as victimization, particularly for drug-related and violent offenses. Their involvement in crime often represents only one component of a well-recognized cluster of negative experiences and circumstances including drug use problems, socioeconomic disadvantage and poor physical and mental health, sometimes evident in childhood. The cost to individuals, families, and society is enormous, yet we know little about the development of these patterns across the life course. Despite these evident disparities, few studies have examined the development of drug use and criminal behaviors over time within African American community populations, especially into mid adulthood. We intend to study the timing and sources of risk over the life span to better understand the disparities in health and social consequences related to criminal justice issues among African Americans. To that end, we request support to analyze existing crime and drug data covering 35 years in the lives of a cohort of first grade, African American children from inner city Chicago. This prospective developmental study (the Woodlawn project) began in 1966-67, with the most recent follow up in 2002-3 at ages 42-43, and interim assessments in adolescence and early adulthood (age 32-33). The study population had high levels of drug use and criminal activity in adulthood. In the proposed project, we will focus on interrelationships of drug abuse and crime, examining predictors and consequences of drug abuse, criminal activity, and involvement with the criminal justice system. Using data from cohort members, mothers, interviewers, and official criminal records, we will identify 1) patterns of drug use and criminal behaviors over the life course; 2) individual and contextual predictors of later drug use, criminal activity/behaviors, and involvement with the criminal justice system; 3) social, economic, and health consequences of drug use, criminal behaviors, and involvement in the criminal justice system. Of particular interest is how drug use in adolescence and early adulthood relates to the risk of being arrested and incarcerated and, conversely, how early arrests and incarceration influence later drug use and criminal behaviors. This information will further our understanding of the etiology and consequences of crime and drug use into mid adulthood, and inform the design of interventions at various stages along the life course.