Long-term Consequences of Criminal Justice System Intervention: The Impact of Young Adult Arrest on Midlife Health Behaviors.

While there is a growing literature on the relationship between incarceration and health, few studies have expanded the investigation of criminal justice system involvement and health to include the more common intervention of arrest. This study uses a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the long-term effect of arrest in young adulthood on health behaviors in midlife for African Americans. We use propensity score matching methods and gender-specific multivariate regression analyses to equate those who did and did not incur an arrest in young adulthood from a subsample (n = 683) of the Woodlawn cohort, an African American community cohort followed from childhood into midlife.

What's drugs got to do with it? Examining the relationship between drug onset and duration with criminal outcomes in an African American cohort.

Background: The association of drug use onset and duration with criminal careers has rarely been studied over the life course among African Americans, who are disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system.

Methods: This study uses data from a community cohort of urban African Americans, first assessed at age 6 (n = 1242) and followed into midlife. Data come from both self-reports (n = 1053 in adulthood) and official crime records (n = 1217).

Explaining continuity in substance use: The role of criminal justice system involvement over the life course of an urban African American prospective cohort.

Background: African Americans are disproportionately burdened by substance use consequences and criminal justice system involvement, yet their interrelationship over the life course is not well understood. This study aimed to assess how substance use, crime, and justice system involvement may influence one another from adolescence to midlife.

Methods: Data come from a community cohort of urban African Americans first assessed in childhood and followed up into midlife (n = 1242, 606 males, 636 females).

Young Adult Victimization and Midlife Consequences: Sensitization or Steeling Effects of Childhood Adversity?

The interrelationship between victimization, violence, and substance use/abuse has been well established, yet those who experience victimization do not necessarily respond with violence or substance use or escalate to experiencing substance abuse symptoms. Drawing on literature from both the syndemic research from medical anthropology and the resilience research from psychology, this study examines the interaction between early childhood adversity and young adult violent victimization on later substance use/abuse and violent offending to provide insight into conditional effects. Data are derived from the Woodlawn Study, an African American cohort of men and women from a socioeconomically heterogeneous community in the South Side of Chicago, who were followed from first grade through age 42.

Predictors of Religiosity in a Cohort of African Americans.

Few studies have considered life course predictors of religiosity. We use the Woodlawn Study of a cohort of 1242 first grade African American children followed over four time periods to age 42 to observe how early school behaviors, family characteristics and neighborhood and social resources relate to later religiosity. Past literature suggested several domains of religiosity and exploratory factor analyses supported four measures of religiosity: In multivariate analyses, males rated by teachers as shy in first grade, those with more than a high school education, and females who reported higher social ties in young adulthood were more likely to report religiosity as a resource at age 42.

Social Stigma Toward Persons With Prescription Opioid Use Disorder: Associations With Public Support for Punitive and Public Health-Oriented Policies.

Objective: Prescription opioid use disorder and overdose have emerged as significant public health challenges in the past 15 years. Little is known about public attitudes toward individuals who have developed a prescription opioid use disorder and whether these attitudes affect support for policy interventions. This study examined social stigma toward individuals with prescription opioid use disorder and tested whether stigma was associated with support for various policy interventions.

Long-term consequences of adolescent cannabis use: Examining intermediary processes.

Background: In the United States, perceptions of marijuana's acceptability are at an all-time high, risk perceptions among youth are low, and rates are rising among Black youth. Thus, it is imperative to increase the understanding of long-term effects of adolescent marijuana use and ways to mitigate adverse consequences.

Objectives: To identify the midlife consequences of heavy adolescent marijuana use and the mechanisms driving effects among a Black, urban population.

Examining the Consequences of the "Prevalent Life Events" of Arrest and Incarceration among an Urban African-American Cohort.

The life course perspective has traditionally examined prevalent adult life events, such as marriage and employment, and their potential to redirect offending trajectories. However, for African Americans, the life events of arrest and incarceration are becoming equally prevalent in young adulthood. Therefore, it is critical to understand how these "standard" criminal justice practices, which are designed to deter as well as punish, affect deviance among this population.

Pathways from Early Childhood Adversity to Later Adult Drug Use and Psychological Distress: A Prospective Study of a Cohort of African Americans.

Drawing on the life course perspective, this research addresses the direct and indirect pathways between childhood adversity and midlife psychological distress and drug use across a majority of the life span in an African American cohort (N = 1,242) followed from age 6 to 42 (1966 to 2002). Results from structural equation models highlight the impact of low childhood socioeconomic status (SES), poor maternal mental health, and the role of first-grade maladaptation in launching a trajectory of social maladaptation from age 6 to 42. Specifically, for men, we found a direct pathway from early low SES to drug use in mid adulthood and an indirect pathway to psychological distress through first-grade maladaptation and adolescent poor mental health.

Effect of Adolescent Cigarette Smoking on Adulthood Substance Use and Abuse: The Mediating Role of Educational Attainment.

Background: Even though the association between cigarette smoking and later substance use has been shown, there is still no compelling evidence that demonstrates the long-term effects in a high drug using community in African Americans. Few studies have examined the mediating mechanisms of the effect of adolescent cigarette smoking on the drug progression pathway.

Objectives: We examined the long-term influence of adolescent smoking on later illegal drug use in a cohort of urban African Americans, and the mediating role of educational attainment in the drug progression pathway.

Listening to food workers: Factors that impact proper health and hygiene practice in food service.

Background: Foodborne disease is a significant problem worldwide. Research exploring sources of outbreaks indicates a pronounced role for food workers' improper health and hygiene practice.

Objective: To investigate food workers' perceptions of factors that impact proper food safety practice.

Do the adult criminal careers of African Americans fit the "facts"?

Purpose: A major gap in the criminal career research is our understanding of offending among African Americans, especially beyond early adulthood. In light of this gap, this study describes the criminal career patterns of a cohort of African American males and females.

Methods: This paper uses official criminal history data spanning ages 17 to 52 from the Woodlawn Study, a community cohort of 1,242 urban African American males and females.

Taking a life course approach to studying substance use treatment among a community cohort of African American substance users.

Background: Life course theory emphasizes the need to examine a wide variety of distal factors along with proximal factors, longitudinally. Yet research on who obtains substance use treatment is generally cross-sectional and limited to examining developmentally proximal factors (e.g.

Long-term effects of adolescent smoking on depression and socioeconomic status in adulthood in an urban African American cohort.

Despite known adverse causal effects of cigarette smoking on mental health, findings for the effects of adolescent cigarette smoking on later depression and socioeconomic status remain inconclusive. Previous studies have had shorter follow-up periods and did not have a representative portion of the African American population. Using an analytical method that matches adolescent smokers with nonsmokers on childhood and background variables, this study aims to provide evidence on the effects of adolescent regular smoking on adult depression and socioeconomic status.

Early life conditions of overall and cause-specific mortality among inner-city African Americans.

Objectives: We examined how early life conditions influence midlife overall and cause-specific mortality in a community cohort of disadvantaged African Americans.

Methods: Using a prospective design, we assessed first-grade children and their teachers and families when children were 6 years old, with follow-up at ages 16, 32, and 42 years. We obtained information on death from family members, neighbors, and the National Death Index (NDI).

Marriage and Offending among a Cohort of Disadvantaged African Americans.

Objectives: Drawing on Sampson and Laub's age-graded theory of informal social control, this research tests the generalizability of the marriage effect on desistance from crime. Specifically, do urban African American men and women living in the United States benefit from marriage similarly to Whites?

Methods: The authors use hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to analyze the relationship between marriage and official arrest counts among African American male and female first graders from Woodlawn, an inner-city community in Chicago, first assessed in 1966 and followed up at three time points (ages 16, 32, and 42).

Results: The authors find strong evidence of a marriage effect for the males across crime type, with a reduction in offending between 21 percent and 36 percent when in a state of marriage.

Marriage Trajectories and Health Risk Behaviors Throughout Adulthood Among Urban African Americans.

Although previous studies have identified a protective effect of marriage on risky health behaviors, gaps remain in our understanding of how marriage improves health, particularly among African Americans. This study uses longitudinal data to take selection into account and examines whether marital trajectories that incorporate timing, stability, and duration of marriage affect health risk behaviors among a community cohort of urban African Americans followed for 35 years ( = 1,049). For both men and women, we find six marital trajectories.

Childhood and adolescent risk factors for comorbid depression and substance use disorders in adulthood.

The comorbidity of major depression and substance use disorders is well documented. However, thorough understanding of prevalence and early risk factors for comorbidity in adulthood is lacking, particularly among urban African Americans. With data from the Woodlawn Study, which follows a community cohort of urban African Americans from ages 6 to 42, we identify the prevalence of comorbidity and childhood and adolescent risk factors of comorbid depression and substance use disorders, depression alone, and substance use disorders alone.

Early life predictors of adult depression in a community cohort of urban African Americans.

Depression among African Americans residing in urban communities is a complex, major public health problem; however, few studies identify early life risk factors for depression among urban African American men and women. To better inform prevention programming, this study uses data from the Woodlawn Study, a well-defined community cohort of urban African Americans followed from age 6 to 42 years, to determine depression prevalence through midlife and identify childhood and adolescent risk factors for adult depression separately by gender. Results indicate that lifetime depression rates do not differ significantly by gender (16.

A prospective study of childhood and adolescent antecedents of homelessness among a community population of African Americans.

Much is known about contemporaneous correlates of homelessness from studies of homeless individuals. However, few studies have prospectively examined early antecedents and prevalence of homelessness in community populations. We use data from a 35-year study of a community population of African Americans to examine relationships between homelessness and prior structural, family, school, and behavioral influences.

The Impact of Adolescent Deviance on Marital Trajectories.

Marriage is a key life event that has numerous benefits. Recent research extends these benefits to include desistance from crime and drug use yet there has been little investigation regarding whether deviant behavior in adolescence impacts long-term marital patterns. Since rates of marriage are low among African Americans and rates of adolescent deviance and crime are high, we investigate the long-term relationship between the two drawing on longitudinal data from the Woodlawn cohort of urban African Americans.

Interrelationship of substance use and psychological distress over the life course among a cohort of urban African Americans.

Background: Substance use and psychological problems are major public health issues because of their high prevalence, co-occurrence, clustering in socio-economically disadvantaged groups, and serious consequences. However, their interrelationship over time is not well understood.

Methods: This study identifies and compares the developmental epidemiology from age 6 to 42 of substance use and psychological distress in a population of African American men and women.

Risk factors for intimate partner violence initiation and persistence among high psychosocial risk Asian and Pacific Islander women in intact relationships.

Purpose: The present study identifies risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) initiation and persistence over three years in a high psychosocial risk Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) sample of women with children living in Hawaii.

Methods: We included 378 women in a 3-year relationship with the same partner who reported IPV experiences at baseline and 3 years later. Baseline risk factors included characteristics of each woman, her partner, and their relationship.

A longitudinal study of substance use and violent victimization in adulthood among a cohort of urban African Americans.

Aims: This paper examines the effects of experiencing violent victimization in young adulthood on pathways of substance use from adolescence to mid-adulthood.

Design: Data come from four assessments of an African American community cohort followed longitudinally from age 6 to 42 years.

Setting: The cohort lived in the urban, disadvantaged Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago in 1966.