Military service as a turning point in the life course.

Abstract

Utilising the findings collected by the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), my research analyses the relationship between military service and various crime measures. Drawing on the premise that life course trajectories are embedded with transitions that shape human experiences, my research examines military service as a turning point which is characterised as a pivotal transition that can affect and radically change an individual’s life course trajectory and possibly result in long-term or permanent behavioural changes. The review on prior research supports both sides of the argument; that the military service acts as a turning point and alters life course trajectories, leading to either positive or negative outcomes. Using logistic regressions to measure between individual differences and difference-in-difference (DID) analyses to measure within group differences, my research compares military personnel and non-military groups in their likelihood of criminal offending across 15 years of longitudinal data taken from the NLSY97. My research results did not yield many significant differences in levels of criminal activity between military and non-military personnel with the exception of the DID analysis on drug crime which gives evidence to the military service’s ability to act as a turning point to positive outcomes in the life course. The results of my research contribute to the wider literature of life course theory and will be of use to military institutions and governments that continually seek to build on existing strategies in improving the well-being of soldiers and veterans.