Do angels fall? An analysis of late onset offending and substance use in adults based on findings from the National Youth Survey Family Study

The concept that angels suddenly fall and saints become sinners appears inconsistent with much of the literature on the continuity of problem behaviors. The question of whether adults without prior histories of delinquency or problem behaviors in childhood or adolescence initiate offending and substance use for the first time in adulthood has only recently gained interest with developmental theorists. Some researchers have dismissed the study of adult onset as unnecessary due to its rare occurrence, but a growing number of researchers contend that the study of late onset offending and other problem behaviors in adulthood has been vastly neglected.;While some discount the legitimacy of adult onset, others contend that 50 percent of adult offenders began offending in adulthood. Despite this assertion that adult onset offending and substance use is prevalent in the United States, few studies have examined its prevalence or analyzed factors significant to its prediction. The few studies to examine adult onset have relied primarily on official records, which may not be an appropriate method for determining age at onset for minor offenses (Kazemian & Farrington, 2005), and even fewer studies have examined age at onset longitudinally based on self-report surveys.;This study analyzes findings from the National Youth Survey Family Study (NYSFS) waves 1-11 to determine the frequency and predictors of late onset offending and other problem behaviors in adulthood. The primary purpose of this study is to clarify the conceptualization of late onset, to investigate the contradictions in findings concerning its occurrence, and to determine which factors are significant predictors of late onset. The findings suggest that late onset substance use is rare and late onset offending is even rarer (less than .1% of respondents and less than 1% of all offenders). Due to the rarity of these events, it is extremely difficult to identify salient predictors. The strongest predictors of serious late onset offending is prior offending, suggesting that serious measures are not valid measures of late onset offending, but rather are identifying a continuation of offending from minor to more serious offenses.;Keywords. late onset, early onset, life course criminology, substance abuse, general offending, minor offending, serious offending, and predictors of late onset offending.