ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the linkage between childhood misbehavior and later adult behavior in a variety of life domains. In any event, regardless of which measure of delinquent/antisocial behavior in childhood is used, childhood misbehavior has a substantively powerful relationship with adult crime and deviance. The chapter argues that adult behavior outcomes occurs independent of traditional sociological variables such as social class and race/ethnicity. It aims to establish the importance of studying crime and deviance over the full life course. Drawing on Avshalom Caspi and Lee Robins, the chapter suggests that antisocial behavior in children is linked to later adult behavior across a variety of domains of life including behavior in the military, general deviance and criminality, economic dependency, educational attainment, employment history, and marital experiences. Regardless of the particular measure of childhood misbehavior used, the continuity of childhood misbehavior to adulthood emerges even while under military service.
