ABSTRACT
Labeling theory suggests that punishment by the criminal justice system is counterproductive and causes increases in criminal behavior. Such undesirable effects may be cumulative and long-lasting, and may also affect other spheres of life, such as employment, relationships, and mental health. In this paper, we examine consequences of conviction and incarceration on multiple life outcomes up to age forty-eight years in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD), a prospective longitudinal survey of over 400 English males studied from age eight. Using regression analyses and propensity score matching, we find persistent and strong associations between juvenile conviction and adult criminal behavior, antisocial personality, and life success. The consequences of juvenile conviction are partly explained by men’s antisocial attitudes, involvement with delinquent groups, and unemployment at age eighteen. Undesirable effects of juvenile conviction are stronger for boys who had a convicted parent than boys who did not have a convicted parent. Incarceration increases the risk for early adult antisocial personality and poor life success over and above the effects of conviction without incarceration.
