NLS@50

Tia Andersen

Assistant Professor

Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of South Carolina

NLS user since 2007

Citations

• Andersen, Tia Stevens. (in press). “The Role of Benign Neglect on Racial/Ethnic Variation in Youth Risk of Arrest: Evidence from a National Longitudinal Sample.” Criminal Justice and Behavior.
• Stevens, Tia and Merry Morash. (2014). “Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Boys’ Probability of Arrest and Court Actions in 1980 and 2000: The Disproportionate Impact of ‘Getting Tough’ on Crime.” Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 13, 77-95.
• Stevens, Tia, Merry Morash, and Suyeon Park. (2011). “Late-adolescent delinquency: Risks and resilience for girls differing in risk at the start of adolescence” Youth & Society, 43, 1433-1458.
• Stevens, Tia, Merry Morash, and Meda Chesney-Lind. (2011). “Are Girls Getting Tougher, or Are We Tougher on Girls? Probability of Arrest and Juvenile Court Oversight in 1980 and 2000” Justice Quarterly, 28, 719-744.
• Park, Suyeon, Merry Morash and Tia Stevens. (2010). “Gender differences in predictors of assaultive behavior in late adolescence” Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 8, 314-331.

What I learned from NLS data

With the NLSY97, I've been able to examine how gender, race, and other structural inequalities influence juvenile offending and justice system processing. For example, although a considerable body of empirical and theoretical research examines disproportionate youth contact with the justice system, little research has been undertaken on the influence of contextual factors and structured social inequalities on disparities in justice system contact. Using a the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth appended with county- and state-specific data, my research has identified the macro-structural environments associated with severity of justice system response to youth.

Why I chose NLS data

Traditional studies of disproportionate youth contact with the justice system have relied on official data from youth who have already made contact with the justice system. One method to examine disproportionate minority contact (DMC) with the justice system that has been neglected in research is the analysis of longitudinal individual-level data. The breadth and longitudinal design make the NLSY97 uniquely capable of examining individual and contextual determinants of youth justice system contact.