Abstract
Data from community-living offenders were examined to compare socioeconomic demographics of Whites and non-Whites with Asian Americans, and to examine how race and gender moderate the predictive power of substance use in accounting for corrections involvement. Face-to-face interviews were conducted for 192 participants in Oregon. Men displayed higher rates of substance use and corrections involvement than women. Participating non-White men and women both experienced significantly higher rates of incarceration than White counterparts; rates for Asian-American men were similar to other men of color. With regard to employment, once again, non-White men and women were significantly more likely to be unemployed or under employed (fewer than 20 h per week). Asian-American men reported higher education levels, but fewer hours employed. All of the men consumed alcohol at high rates, but Asian-American men were arrested and convicted less often than other men for alcohol related offenses. A critical limitation to the study was the small of number of Asian-American women participants and therefore an inability to conduct specific statistical tests for this subgroup. Findings fill a gap in forensic research and practice regarding adult offenders of color.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (grant no: RO1 DA018977 and R01 DA18977-03S2). The content does not necessarily represent the views or policies of the funding agency. Special thanks to Charlene Rhyne at Multnomah County Department of Community Justice and Suzi Gonzales at Lincoln County Community Corrections, Oregon.
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Lee, J., Bank, L., Cause, A. et al. A Comparative Study of White, Asian American and Other non-White men and Women Under Community Supervision. Am J Crim Just 40, 823–842 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-015-9292-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-015-9292-8