Abstract
Evidence from several qualitative studies has suggested that the transition to motherhood has strong inhibitory effects on the delinquency and drug use trajectories of poor women. Quantitative studies, however, typically have failed to find significant parenthood or motherhood effects. We argue that the latter research typically has not examined motherhood in disadvantaged settings or applied the appropriate statistical method. Focusing on within-individual change, we test the motherhood hypothesis using data from a 10-year longitudinal study of more than 500 women living in disadvantaged Denver communities. We find that the transition to motherhood is associated significantly with reductions in delinquency, marijuana, and alcohol behaviors. Moreover, we find that the effect of motherhood is larger than that of marriage for all outcomes. These results support the qualitative findings and suggest that the transition to motherhood-and not marriage-is the primary turning point for disadvantaged women to exit delinquent and drug-using trajectories.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 221-258 |
| Number of pages | 38 |
| Journal | Criminology |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 1 2010 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine
- Law
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Motherhood and criminal desistance in disadvantaged neighborhoods. / Kreager, Derek A.; Matsueda, Ross L.; Erosheva, Elena A.
In: Criminology, Vol. 48, No. 1, 01.02.2010, p. 221-258.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Motherhood and criminal desistance in disadvantaged neighborhoods
AU - Kreager, Derek A.
AU - Matsueda, Ross L.
AU - Erosheva, Elena A.
PY - 2010/2/1
Y1 - 2010/2/1
N2 - Evidence from several qualitative studies has suggested that the transition to motherhood has strong inhibitory effects on the delinquency and drug use trajectories of poor women. Quantitative studies, however, typically have failed to find significant parenthood or motherhood effects. We argue that the latter research typically has not examined motherhood in disadvantaged settings or applied the appropriate statistical method. Focusing on within-individual change, we test the motherhood hypothesis using data from a 10-year longitudinal study of more than 500 women living in disadvantaged Denver communities. We find that the transition to motherhood is associated significantly with reductions in delinquency, marijuana, and alcohol behaviors. Moreover, we find that the effect of motherhood is larger than that of marriage for all outcomes. These results support the qualitative findings and suggest that the transition to motherhood-and not marriage-is the primary turning point for disadvantaged women to exit delinquent and drug-using trajectories.
AB - Evidence from several qualitative studies has suggested that the transition to motherhood has strong inhibitory effects on the delinquency and drug use trajectories of poor women. Quantitative studies, however, typically have failed to find significant parenthood or motherhood effects. We argue that the latter research typically has not examined motherhood in disadvantaged settings or applied the appropriate statistical method. Focusing on within-individual change, we test the motherhood hypothesis using data from a 10-year longitudinal study of more than 500 women living in disadvantaged Denver communities. We find that the transition to motherhood is associated significantly with reductions in delinquency, marijuana, and alcohol behaviors. Moreover, we find that the effect of motherhood is larger than that of marriage for all outcomes. These results support the qualitative findings and suggest that the transition to motherhood-and not marriage-is the primary turning point for disadvantaged women to exit delinquent and drug-using trajectories.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77950269153&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77950269153&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2010.00184.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2010.00184.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77950269153
VL - 48
SP - 221
EP - 258
JO - Criminology
JF - Criminology
SN - 0011-1384
IS - 1
ER -