Abstract
We analyzed the prevalence of arrest (ages ranged from 24 to 34) across sex and race/ethnicity by drawing on nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Findings revealed 30 % of U.S. adults (aged 24–34) reported being arrested at least once in their lifetime. Prevalence of lifetime arrest for males (43 %) was more than two times that of females (17 %). Arrest risk was not homogenous across racial/ethnic groups with 19 % of Asian/Pacific Islander respondents reporting an arrest, 29 % of White respondents reporting an arrest, 38 % Black respondents reporting an arrest, and 40 % of American Indian/Native Americans reporting an arrest. The current results support recent evidence gleaned from alternative sources but suggest arrest risk is not homogenous across sex or racial/ethnic categories.
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Notes
Arrest prevalence can also be measured using wave 3 of the Add Health data. We performed a preliminary analysis–using the appropriate survey weights—of those data and found the overall arrest prevalence to be approximately 12 %. Males reported an arrest prevalence of approximately 20 % whereas females reported an arrest prevalence of 5 %. Interestingly, there were almost no statistically significant differences in arrest prevalence across race/ethnicity using the wave 3 data. The pattern of arrest prevalence among the racial/ethnic groups was: American Indian/Native Americans = 14 %, Asian and Pacific Islanders = 11 %, Blacks = 12 %, Other Race/Ethnicity = 14 %, and Whites = 12 %.
Abbreviations
- Add Health:
-
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
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Acknowledgments
This research uses data from Add Health a program project designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by a grant P01-HD31921 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies. Special acknowledgment is due Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. Persons interested in obtaining data files from Add Health should contact Add Health, Carolina Population Center, 123 W. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516–2524 (addhealth@unc.edu).
Financial Disclosure
No direct support was received from grant P01-HD31921 for this analysis.
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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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Barnes, J.C., Jorgensen, C., Beaver, K.M. et al. Arrest Prevalence in a National Sample of Adults: The Role of Sex and Race/Ethnicity. Am J Crim Just 40, 457–465 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-014-9273-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-014-9273-3