Table 1 Independent variable descriptions
Assessed at time 1 | Assessed at time 2 | |
|---|---|---|
Refers to period prior to arrest | Refers to current situation | |
Demographics | ||
Age | Date of birth | Date of birth at Time 1 plus number of days elapsed between Time 1 and 2 interviews |
Race/ethnicity | White, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska native, Bi-racial, Other; as Hispanic. Categories collapsed to make Hispanic ethnicity a mutually exclusive category if overlap with other race identity | -- |
Housing stability | ||
Foster care history | Ever having been in New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services, a group home, or foster care | -- |
Living with parents or legal guardian | Living with parents, legal guardian, or other relatives. | Living with parents, legal guardian, or other relatives |
Unstably housed | Living in a shelter, from place-to-place, homeless, on the streets, in an empty building, or in an institution | Living in a shelter, from place-to-place, homeless, on the streets, in an empty building, or in an institution |
Social ties | Number of people in their lives felt close to | -- |
No health insurance | Not paying for medical care in the past year with Medicaid or other health insurance | Not paying for medical care in the past year with Medicaid or other health insurance |
Unemployed | Being unemployed and looking/not looking for work | Being unemployed and looking/not looking for work |
Education | ||
Ever held back in school | Ever having stayed a grade back in school | -- |
Not attending school regularly | Being enrolled in school but not attending most of the time, suspended or expelled from school, dropped out of school, or graduated from school | Being enrolled in school but not attending most of the time, suspended or expelled from school, dropped out of school, or graduated from school |
Lifetime learning disability diagnosis | Ever having been told by a guidance counselor, social worker, physician, or psychologist that they had a learning disability, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), or hyperactivity | -- |
Alcohol and drug risk | ||
Alcohol use | Number of times a week on average alcohol consumed in past 30 days | Number of times a week on average alcohol consumed in past 90 days |
Marijuana use | Number of days marijuana used in past 30 days | Number of days marijuana used in past 90 days |
Hard drug use | Number of days cocaine, crack, heroin, inhalants, acid, ecstasy, downers, speed, PCP, or steroids used in past 30 days | Number of days cocaine, crack, heroin, inhalants, acid, ecstasy, downers, speed, PCP, or steroids used in past 90 days |
Sold drugs to get money for drugs/alcohol | Selling drugs to get money to pay for purchase of drugs/alcohol for personal use in past 30 days | Selling drugs to get money to pay for purchase of drugs/alcohol for personal use in past 90 days |
Drug/alcohol dependence | Participants asked 6 questions about drug/alcohol use in the past year, such as: “Did you need to use more drugs or alcohol to get the same high as when you first started using?” If participants answered “yes” to 6 out of 6, classified as “drug/alcohol-dependent” according to DSV IV criteria [22] | Participants asked 6 questions about drug/alcohol use in the past year, such as: “Did you need to use more drugs or alcohol to get the same high as when you first started using?” If participants answered “yes” to 6 out of 6, classified as “drug/alcohol-dependent” according to DSV IV criteria [22] |
Sex risk | ||
Sex partners | Number of sex partners in past three months | Number of sex partners in past three months |
Inconsistent condom use | Not “always” using condoms with all sex partners in past three months | Not “always” using condoms with all sex partners in past three months |
Interpersonal violence risk | ||
Gang involvement | Ever having been involved in a gang, for example with the “Bloods”, “Crips”, or “Latin Kings” | -- |
Weapons possession during illegal activity | Carrying a gun, knife, or any other type of weapon while engaging in illegal activities in last year | Carrying a gun, knife, or any other type of weapon while engaging in illegal activities in last year |
Criminal justice background | -- | |
Incarcerated for drug charges | Having a current charge for sale, manufacturing, use, or possession of drugs/controlled substances | -- |
Incarcerated for violent charges | Having a current charge for armed robbery, possession of a weapon or weapons charge, offenses against family, children, reckless endangerment of children, domestic violence, sex offenses other than rape or prostitution, or simple assault | -- |
Prior arrests | Number of times ever arrested | -- |
Arrests after release from jail | -- | Number of arrests since release from jail/enrollment in REAL MEN |
Went back to jail after index incarceration | -- | Whether past year’s arrests led to an incarceration |