CRIMINAL JUSTICE CONTACT AND PHYSICAL HEALTH OUTCOMES AMONG U.S. ADULTS

This project examines whether being stopped by police, arrested, convicted of a crime, or incarcerated is associated with poor physical health among U.S. young adults. Scholars have begun examining whether pre-incarceration contacts with law enforcement—such as being stopped by the police or arrested—are associated with health. Findings are inconsistent regarding whether pre-incarceration contacts are associated with poorer physical health. Previous research has tended to use single biomarker measures such as C-reactive protein or self-reported health, neither of which captures overall disease risk or poor health in young adult populations. I use a sample of Black, Latino, and White young adults ages 34-44 from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n=2,986) along with negative binomial regression models to examine the associations between criminal justice contacts and allostatic load. Results show that arrests at Wave III are associated with allostatic load at Wave V.Master of Art