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Getting Caught and Getting Hitched: An Assessment of the Relationship Between Police Intervention, Life Chances, and Romantic Unions

NCJ Number
249658
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 32 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2015 Pages: 976-1005
Author(s)
N. M. Schmidt; G. Lopes; M. D. Krohn; A. J. Lizotte
Date Published
November 2015
Length
30 pages
Annotation
Since little research has assessed the link between formal police intervention with adolescents, financial hardship, and the formation and quality of romantic relationships, this study used data from the Rochester Youth Development Study to examine the effects of police intervention on the affected person's marriage stability and quality of romantic relationship at two time points
Abstract
The study found that police intervention during adolescence was associated with increases in financial hardship during young adulthood, which, in turn, decreased the odds of entering into a stable marriage by age 31 and the extent to which those who have a romantic relationship feel their partner is supportive. Early police intervention is also indirectly associated with a reduction in partner satisfaction and an increase in partner violence via young adult arrest. The study concludes that even minimally invasive contact with the criminal justice system during adolescence has long-lasting collateral consequences in the family arena. (Publisher abstract modified)