Crime, illegal drug use and social control in the transition from school to work

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Abstract
Some research on adolescents has suggested that delinquency and drug use may have a common aetiology. However, there have been fewer studies on this question among older youth in transition to adulthood. The present research draws upon social control theory to test hypotheses concerning the impact of labour market problems on crime and cannabis use during the transition from school to work. Unemployment and job instability during this transition may be a source of both crime and drug use, particularly among those youth who have particular attitudes and beliefs about the labour market. Contrasting predictions of control and strain theory concerning the interaction between labour market experiences and attitudes are tested in a multivariate analysis with longitudinal data from a four‐year follow‐up of high school graduates from three Canadian cities. Whilst the results demonstrate some overlap in the risk factors for crime and cannabis use, there are also differing causal patterns that suggest minor crime may represent a response to temporary labour market problems whereas cannabis use is a more enduring behaviour pattern. Copyright © 1997 Whurr Publishers Ltd.