Study Reveals Troubling Stats About American Men And Arrests

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A new report has some disturbing information about young men in America: A large number of them have been arrested by the time they're 23.

The University of South Carolina study, which was published in the journal Crime and Delinquency, found that nearly half of African-American men and almost 40% of white men living in the U.S. have been arrested by the time they turn 23.

By that age, 49 percent of black males, 44 percent of Hispanic males and 38 percent of white males have been arrested.

To come to that conclusion, the study's authors used national surveys from between 1997 and 2008 that focused on young adults and their arrest records. The study excluded arrests for minor traffic violations.

Interestingly, female arrests showed less racial variance. By 23, 20 percent of white females, 18 percent of Hispanic females and 16 percent of black females had been taken into police custody.

The study's authors say the research is important because having an arrest record can impact things like finding employment, having access to housing and financing higher education.

"As a society, we often worry a great deal about the effects of children watching television, eating junk food, playing sports and having access to good schools. Experiencing formal contact with the criminal justice system could also have powerful effects on behavior and impose substantial constraints on opportunities for America's youth," says Robert Brame, a criminology professor at the University of South Carolina and lead author of the study.

For more info on the study, click here.