The Effect of Deviance during Adolescence on the Choice of Jobs

Abstract

Poor performance in school, truancy, stealing, gang involvement, and substance abuse are problems that can affect the achievement of many children and adolescents [12]. Immediate consequences of these behaviors include low levels of educational attainment, the development of mental health problems including drug and alcohol addiction or depression, and involvement in crime. In 1989, 15 percent of those aged 18-21 had not completed high school, 65 percent of those aged 18-25 currently used alcohol and 15 percent smoked marijuana, and the suicide rate among teenagers (15-24) was 5 per 1000 population [22]. Indeed, the current social costs of deviance by adolescents are large. Yet, the immediate social and economic costs are not the only consequences of disruptive adolescent behavior that are of concern to policymakers and social scientists. Of equal concern are the long-run social costs of these behaviors, in particular whether future labor market opportunities and decisions are affected by antisocial behavior patterns displayed during adolescence. Recent research by economists and psychologists suggests that these long-run effects could be significant. Some clinical studies by psychologists have found that conduct-disordered children are more likely to develop antisocial personality disorders as adults than other children [18]. Some indication of the magnitude of the long-run effects of antisocial adolescent behavior can be obtained by linking these results to studies of economic outcomes of mental health. For example, Bartel and Taubman [1; 2] examined the relationship between mental health and earnings using a sample of twins. While they did not focus specifically on antisocial behavior, they did find significant negative consequences of mental health disorders, particularly psychoses, on income. Mullahy and Sindelar [17] found that alcoholism triggered during adolescence negatively affected