History of juvenile arrests and vocational career outcomes for at-risk young men

This study uses longitudinal data from the Oregon Youth Study (OYS) to examine prospective effects of juvenile arrests and of early versus late onset of juvenile offending on two labor market outcomes by age 29 or 30 years. It was expected that those with more juvenile arrests and those with an early onset of offending would show poorer outcomes on both measures, controlling for propensity factors. Data were available for 203 men from the OYS, including officially recorded arrests and self-reported information on the men's work history across 9 years. Analyses revealed unexpected specificity in prospective effects: Juvenile arrests and mental health problems predicted the number of months unemployed; in contrast, being fired from work was predicted by poor child inhibitory control and adolescent substance use. Onset age of offending did not significantly predict either outcome. Implications of the findings for applied purposes and for developmental taxonomies of crime are discussed.