The Buddy System: A 35-Year Follow-Up of Criminal Offenses

Court arrest records were obtained on 475 men and women who participated in a youth mentoring program or were random-ly assigned to a no-treatment control group 35 years previously. Overall, 46.9% were arrested as adults. The proportion of adults arrested varied from 10% to 75% depending on gender, arrests prior to referral, and program participation. The effects of the program continued into the adult years: Among those with an arrest before program referral, significantly fewer participants were arrested as adults; however, among those without an arrest before the mentoring program, significantly more female participants were arrested as adults. In addition, arrest records were obtained for 236 adults who were listed in their civil and criminal cases. Arrest rates differed significantly by types of adult relationships and by proportion of drug arrests. Activity theory, based on activities and relationships, was used to interpret the findings.