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

NCJ Number
248853
Journal
Justice Quarterly Dated: January 2014
Author(s)
Nicole M. Schmidt; Giza Lopes; Marvin D. Krohn; Alan J. Lizotte
Date Published
January 2014
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Little research has assessed the link between formal police intervention, financial hardship, and the formation and quality of romantic relationships. Using data from the Rochester Youth Development Study, The current study contributes to this literature by examining the effects of police intervention at two time points on marriage stability and romantic relationship quality.
Abstract
The study found that police intervention during adolescence was associated with increases in financial hardship during young adulthood, which, in turn, decreases 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 was 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)