Crime, Delinquency & Arrest Records

The 1980 interview asked about delinquent or criminal activities during the previous twelve month period. Categories included:

• skipping school
• alcohol/marijuana use
• vandalism
• shoplifting
• drug dealing
• robbery
• assault
• gambling

The number of respondents reporting participation is summarized in Table 1 and Table 2 below.

Delinquency scales: Adapted from previously used self-report delinquency scales, this instrument was modified for the 1980 NLSY79 survey to accommodate the confidentiality issues raised by in-home administration. In addition, it used an expanded response scale to differentiate very highly delinquent youth from occasional participants. A second set of questions in the 1980 survey measured involvement with the criminal justice system by tallying the number of police contacts and recording the resulting criminal convictions and sentences (probation, incarceration) received.

Table 1. Number of Respondents Reporting Participation within the Past Year in Illegal Activities by Sex and Race or Ethnicity, 1980 (Unweighted)

Table 2. Number of Respondents Reporting Contact with the Police and/or Criminal Justice System by Sex, Race/Ethnicity & 1979 Family Poverty Status: 1980 NLSY79 (Unweighted)

Related variables collected during this and other survey years include:

• Questions on  school discipline problems, such as whether each NLSY79 respondent had ever been suspended or expelled from school and when/if the youth had returned to school (see the School Discipline section of this guide)
• The childhood residence section of the 1988 survey, which collected information on whether NLSY79 respondents had resided in a detention center/jail/prison during any of their first eighteen years of life (see the "Family Background" area of interest)
• A yearly created 'Type of Residence' variable that identifies those NLSY79 respondents who resided in jail at each interview date. Table 3 lists the number of respondents that were in jail or prison at time of interview for each round. Responses of "in jail" to questions within post-1988 Employer Supplements and the "Gaps Not Working" sections of the main questionnaires for the reason not looking for work when not employed can also be used to identify incarcerated respondents (see the "Between Job Gaps" and "Misc. "areas of interest).

Table 3. Number of NLSY79 Respondents in Jail or Prison at Survey Date

Comparison to Other NLS Cohorts: Beginning in 1988 two sets of questions were asked of NLSY79 children dealing with (1) the extent of each child's self-reported participation during the past year in various illegal activities such as vandalism, shoplifting, and assault and (2) the extent of use and age of first use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and drugs. Starting in 1994, young adults were also asked a series of questions closely resembling those in the 1980 main NLSY79.

The NLSY97 survey asks about participation in and the intensity of various criminal activities in the previous year (round 1). In subsequent rounds respondents were questioned about the number of times they participated in criminal activity since the date of last interview. NLSY97 data collected each year include charges, court decisions, and sentencing including dates of incarceration since the last interview. 

The 1968 survey of schools attended by Young Men and Young Women respondents included two questions on whether school records indicated that the respondent had been committed to or was on probation from a correctional institution. Also as part of the 1968 school survey, school records were examined for an indication that the respondent had ever been expelled or suspended from school. For more precise details about the content of each survey, consult the appropriate cohort's User's Guide using the tabs above for more information.