Offender Self-reporting

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

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Q:	Why is the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth a valuable research tool?
A:	One of the strengths of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth is its ability to assess what deviant and delinquent behaviors cluster together.

Analysis of various survey items demonstrates the connection between drug use or sale and other problem behaviors, such as carrying handguns, gang membership, and alcohol consumption.
Youth who had ever used marijuana were more likely to have sold marijuana (24% vs. <1%), carried a handgun (21% vs. 7%), or been in a gang (14% vs. 2%) at some point than youth who had never used marijuana.
Youth who had ever sold marijuana were more likely to have sold hard drugs (i.e., cocaine, LSD, or heroin) (40% vs. 1%), carried a handgun (35% vs. 8%), or been in a gang (24% vs. 4%) than youth who had never sold marijuana.
Active marijuana users (i.e., youth who had used marijuana during the month prior to the survey) were more likely to have consumed alcohol (78% vs. 14%) or carried a handgun (12% vs. 2%) during that period than youth who did not use marijuana.
Youth who had carried a handgun in the last 12 months were also more likely to have been in a gang than youth who did not carry a handgun during this period (15% vs. 1%).

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/offenders/qa03503.asp?qaDate=19990930. Released on September 30, 1999.

Adapted from Snyder, H. & Sickmund, M. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report, p. 58–59. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1999.

Data Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, version 1.0 [machine-readable data file]. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, 1998.