Finally, in addition to the societal costs associated with public service utilization, this study points to a significant and disproportionate individual burden born by those with early-onset and persistent conduct problems. For the 44% of individuals on this pathway who acquire an official criminal record, they can anticipate incurring direct financial (e.g., fines) and personal (e.g., loss of liberty due to incarceration) costs, in addition to lower expected future earnings and, in many cases, barriers to employment related to their criminal history (Western, Kling, & Weiman, 2001). To the extent that health-care utilization is a proxy for poor physical health, individuals with early-onset and persistent conduct problems are also more likely to incur personal costs related to greater disease morbidity and mortality.
