The Effects of Substance Use on Specific Types of Criminal Offending in Young Men

Abstract

This study examined the causal relationship between substance use and delinquency. Subjects were 596 males aged 16 to 19 from Buffalo, New York. Two interviews were conducted 18 months apart. Cross-lagged and synchronous structural equation panel models were fit for both early and late onset of delinquency groups with five types of delinquency: minor, general, serious, property, and violent offenses. The results showed a significant difference between early-onset and late-onset groups concerning the relationship between substance use and delinquency. Early-onset models showed no causal relationship between substance use and delinquency. The late-onset models showed that minor offenses have significant lagged and synchronous positive effects on drug use, drug use exhibited significant lagged and synchronous positive effects on general offenses, and drinking has significant lagged and synchronous negative effects on property offenses. The implications of these findings are discussed.

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