EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JUVENILE CO-OFFENDING EXPERIENCE AND ADULT CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

Abstract

Criminologists have long known that the majority of criminal behavior is committed by young offenders and that the bulk of these offenses are committed with accomplices. Prior work has focused on how the timing of onset is related to distinct criminal trajectories, but minimal research has considered how committing crimes with accomplices during adolescence may be associated with divergent criminal pathways. To address this research void, the current study uses Shannon’s (1982) Racine birth cohort data to test the relationship between juvenile co-offending experience and later criminal engagement. Some theories suggest that the relationship may be negative, while others suggest that the relationship may be positive. Results indicate that the proportion of juvenile co-offenses is not related to later criminal engagement, but having a higher number of co-offenses in adolescence predicts more adult offending. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.