Associations of Male Arrest Trajectories With Physical and Mental Health in Middle Adulthood

Prospective associations between distinctive offender trajectory groups and early health indicators have been quite well studied, but health in middle adulthood much less so.

To test associations between membership of distinctive offender trajectory groups and physical and mental health at age 37/38 years, controlling for baseline risks and earlier health indicators.

Longitudinal data from the Oregon Youth Study (OYS) were used, yielding a community living sample of 206 men aged 37/38 years. The OYS is a study of boys aged 9/10 years on study entry and from high-crime areas, followed from 1983/4 to the present. For the study reported here, annual counts of arrests and periods of imprisonment were derived from court records. Self-report and objective measurements provided indicators of physical (general physical health, cardiovascular health, body mass index, traumatic injury) and mental (hostility/aggression, psychosis, depression, attention problems, social problems) health at age 37/38 years.

Heterogeneity in latent group-based arrest trajectories was modelled using semiparametric group-based modelling and yielded three groups: 141 (69%) rare offenders, 43 (22%) low-level chronic offenders and 19 (9%) high-level chronic offenders. High-level and low-level chronic offenders showed significantly poorer mental (but not physical) health at ages 37/38 compared to rare offenders. Unexpectedly, few health differences emerged between the lower- and higher-level repeat offender groups. Child body mass index significantly predicted middle adulthood body mass index, regardless of offending trajectory.

Distinctive offender trajectory groups are not associated with physical health indicators in middle adulthood, but they are associated with a subset of indicators of mental ill-health at age 37/38, suggesting a need for greater investment in resources to address mental health problems for men showing chronic offending; this may even help prevent recidivism.