Abstract
An increasing amount of research has examined whether there are factors that are present at birth that may predispose to lifelong involvement in antisocial behaviors. One of these proposed criminogenic risk factors is birth weight, with the hypothesis being that lower birth weights are associated with increased involvement in crime and delinquency. A line of research has examined the connection between birth weight and measures of criminal and delinquent involvement, and the results of some studies have revealed evidence of an association. This association, however, is far from conclusive, as the connection between birth weight and offending varies both in magnitude and statistical significance across studies that use different methodological approaches. The goal of the current study was to add to this existing research by examining the potential association between birth weight and measures of offending during adolescence and adulthood. Multivariate regression models estimated on data drawn from multiple waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) did not reveal any association between birth weight and crime and delinquency for males. For females, birth weight was associated with the odds of being incarcerated.