Title page for ETD etd-07152009-035659

Type of Document

Thesis

Author

Ragan, Daniel T.

Author's Email Address

dragan@fsu.edu

URN

etd-07152009-035659

Title

The Role of Selection Effects in the Drug-Crime Relationship: A Propensity Score Matching Approach

Degree

Master of Science

Department

Criminology and Criminal Justice, School of

Advisory Committee

Advisor Name	Title
Kevin M. Beaver	Committee Chair
Bruce Bullington	Committee Member
Daniel P. Mears	Committee Member

Keywords

Crime
Substance Use
Drugs
Delinquency
Propensity Score Matching
Selection Effects

Date of Defense

2009-06-08

Availability

unrestricted

Abstract

Research within the criminological literature has consistently found an association between drug use and crime. Despite this strong empirical association, however, debate still remains regarding the mechanisms responsible for the relationship between these behaviors. An obstacle to the study of this association has been that observational data are highly susceptible to confounding factors. Thus, relationships hypothesized to be causal based on observational data may in fact be spurious.

One type of confounding factor that is especially important to understanding the drug–crime relationship is that of selection effects. Because substance use is not a randomly assigned event, it is likely that substance users and non-users differ on a number of important factors. These factors likely influence not only the likelihood of using drugs, but of participating in criminal and delinquent behavior as well. Those who make the decision to use drugs, then, may be more likely to engage in other types of antisocial behavior as well, regardless of whether substance use occurs.

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this thesis employs propensity score matching to explore the role of selection effects in the relationship between drug use and crime. Possible explanations for, and past research addressing, the drug–crime relationship will be reviewed. Following this, the sample, measures, and statistical analyses employed within the thesis will be introduced, and the results of the propensity score analyses will be explained. Finally, the conclusion of this thesis discusses key findings, the implications of these findings, and the study’s limitations.

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