Saner, H., MacCoun, R. J., & Reuter, P. (1995). On the ubiquity of drug selling among youthful offenders in Washington, D.C., 1985-1991: Age, period, or cohort effect? Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 11, 337-362.

Presents a multiple-cohort analysis of rates of participation (PTN) in drug offending and other crime in an urban sample, based on official charge data on 18-29 yr old Black males from the Pretrial Services Agency in the District of Columbia for 1985-91. This study estimated how many individuals from specific population groups in the District were involved in drug-related criminal activities, examined trends in drug and nondrug charges, and disentangled the age, period, and cohort effects in the variation in PTN in offending across 6 birth cohorts in the city. A lexicographic ordering scheme was used as an index of degree of involvement in illegal drug markets. Results showed (1) extremely high rates of PTN in the drug trade for the 6 cohorts; (2) substantial nonlinear period effects in the drug distribution curves; and (3) age-crime profiles for nondrug felonies and misdemeanors that were different from those found in earlier studies of property and personal crimes.