DOI: 10.3886/icpsr02478.v1
title: Longitudinal Study of Criminal Career Patterns of Former California Youth Authority Wards, 1965-1984
title: Version 1

description: This study was designed to measure changes that occur in
 criminal behavior as offenders move through life. It investigated the
 patterns of criminal behavior that occurred over ten to fifteen years
 for men whose early criminal involvement was serious enough to result
 in commitment to California Youth Authority (state-level)
 institutions. The main focus of the study was on changes in criminal
 behavior as these men moved through their 20s and into their 30s. This
 study extended and expanded the follow-up data for the study EARLY
 IDENTIFICATION OF THE CHRONIC OFFENDER, [1978-1980: CALIFORNIA] (ICPSR
 8226). Half of the sample from the earlier study was used in the
 present study, along with smaller samples of adult offenders with no
 history of state-level commitments as juveniles. These data allow for
 analyses of adult patterns of criminal behavior and the relationship
 of the patterns to various explanatory variables. Part 1, Offense
 Data, contains arrest information covering the period after parole
 from the California Youth Authority through the date of data
 collection. Variables include entry and release dates to jail,
 prison, or probation, the most serious offense and charge, total
 number of offenses for violent, property, and all crimes, and dates of
 arrest, offense codes, and number of counts for all arrests.
 These arrest data incorporate the arrest data contained in EARLY
 IDENTIFICATION OF THE CHRONIC OFFENDER, [1978-1980: CALIFORNIA]
 (ICPSR 8226) for all California Youth Authority cases in the current
 study. Part 2,
 Arrest Data by Age and Year, contains counts of arrest charges by type
 of offense (violent or nonviolent) and by age and calendar year. Part
 3, Arrest Data for Specific Offenses, contains counts of more specific
 arrest charges for four-year age blocks (from 18 through 30-plus) for
 21 types of offenses, including murder, assault, rape, robbery,
 burglary, theft, forgery, arson, and drug possession. Variables
 include months of street time, months of incarceration, and total
 arrests. Part 4, Prison and Probation Data, contains information on
 prison or probation terms and arrest and lifestyle characteristics for
 the year immediately prior to and following jail or prison. Variables
 include family criminal history, family life, education, entry and
 release dates, offenses, treatment and training while incarcerated,
 gang affiliation, psychological evaluation, drug use, employment
 history, and marital status. Part 5, Social History Data, contains
 lifestyle characteristics by age and year. Variables include drug and
 alcohol use, marital status, living arrangements, and employment
history. All files contain age and race variables.
description: This study was designed to measure changes that
 occur in criminal behavior as offenders move through life. Some key
 research questions were: (1) Why do some offenders go to prison early
 in life, while others enter later? (2) Does criminal behavior decline
 as offenders age, or do offenders simply stop their criminal behavior
 altogether at some point? (3) Is the amount of criminal behavior
 committed by offenders related to their employment or family life or
 the use of drugs, as these change over time? This study attempted to
 answer these questions by investigating the patterns of criminal
 behavior that occurred over a ten- to fifteen-year period for some
 1,300 men whose early criminal involvement was serious enough to
 result in commitment to California Youth Authority (state-level)
 institutions. The main focus of the study was on changes in criminal
 behavior as these men moved through their 20s and into their
 30s. The goal was to determine whether a policy of selectively
 sentencing offenders to prison for longer terms could work to
 substantially reduce crime. To that end, the study was organized
 primarily around investigating whether the criminal behavior of the
offenders in this sample was reasonably stable.
description: This study extended and expanded the follow-up
 data for the study EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF THE CHRONIC OFFENDER,
 [1978-1980: CALIFORNIA] (ICPSR 8226). That study analyzed data on
 subsequent arrests (using the most serious charge for each arrest
 incident) over a ten- to fifteen-year period and used attitudinal,
 background, and psychological data retained from earlier studies to
 predict subsequent offense behavior for juvenile and young adult
 offenders committed to the California Youth Authority. Half of this
 sample was used in the present study, along with smaller samples of
 adult offenders with no history of state-level commitments as
 juveniles. More complete arrest histories were obtained, and
 information on demographics, family background, adult drug use,
 marital status, and employment was coded from prison and/or probation
 files. These data allow for extensive analyses of adult patterns of
 criminal behavior and the relationship of the patterns to various
 explanatory variables. Information on a single prison term (for those
 with such terms) or jail/probation term (for cases with such term
 information available but without prison terms) was also coded. Data
 on arrests and time incarcerated prior to and after these sentences
 were used to assess career stability over time and estimate the
incapacitation effects of increased sentence lengths.
description: Part 1, Offense Data, contains arrest information
 covering the period after parole from the California Youth Authority
 through the date of data collection. Variables include entry and
 release dates to jail, prison, or probation, the most serious offense
 and charge, total number of offenses for violent, property, and all
 crimes, and dates of arrest, offense codes, and number of counts for
 all arrests. These arrest data incorporate the arrest data contained
 in EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF THE CHRONIC OFFENDER, [1978-1980:
 CALIFORNIA] (ICPSR 8226) for all California Youth Authority cases in
 the current study. Part 2, Arrest Data by Age and Year, contains
 counts of arrest charges by type of offense (violent or nonviolent)
 and by age and calendar year. Part 3, Arrest Data for Specific
 Offenses, contains counts of more specific arrest charges for
 four-year age blocks (from 18 through 30-plus) for 21 types of
 offenses, including murder, assault, rape, robbery, burglary, theft,
 forgery, arson, and drug possession. Variables include months of
 street time, months of incarceration, and total arrests. Part 4,
 Prison and Probation Data, contains information on prison or probation
 terms and arrest and lifestyle characteristics for the year
 immediately prior to and following jail or prison. Variables include
 family criminal history, family life, education, entry and release
 dates, offenses, treatment and training while incarcerated, gang
 affiliation, psychological evaluation, drug use, employment history,
 and marital status. Part 5, Social History Data, contains lifestyle
 characteristics by age and year. Variables include drug and alcohol
 use, marital status, living arrangements, and employment history. All
files contain age and race variables.
description: Response Rates: Not applicable.
description: Presence of Common Scales: None.
description: The sample used for this study consisted of three
 subsamples: (1) half of the sample from ICPSR 8226 (n = 1,308), (2) a
 sample of adult prisoners who were convicted of robbery or burglary
 and who had no known history of state-level juvenile commitments (n =
 175), and (3) a sample of adult probationers who were sentenced to
 jail and/or probation for either robbery or burglary who had no prior
juvenile or adult state-level commitments (n = 98).
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Offense Data
DS2: Arrest Data by Age and Year
DS3: Arrest Data for Specific Offenses
DS4: Prison and Probation Data
DS5: Social History Data
description: California offenders.
description: The user guide, codebook, and data collection instruments 
 are provided as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The PDF file format 
 was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF 
 reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to 
 obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided through the ICPSR Website 
on the Internet.