Longitudinal data are essential to research in criminology and criminal justice. Despite attrition’s implications for validity, understanding its sources is underexplored empirically. We examine the correlates of retention using covariates organized into domains of prediction, prevention, and projection. Data from the LoneStar Project, a three-wave longitudinal reentry study of 802 males recently released from prisoners in Texas, were analyzed to examine the correlates of proximal, distal, and any study retention. The best correlates of study retention are prevention techniques used by researchers to reduce attrition. In contrast, only a few covariates traditionally associated with attrition and no covariates used for attrition projection were related to retention. What researchers do matters more for retention than the characteristics of individuals they are trying to retain. The findings underscore how researchers can improve study retention in longitudinal research while also correcting for non-random attrition in current longitudinal data sources.

纵向数据对于犯罪学和刑事司法研究至关重要。尽管消耗对有效性有影响，但对其来源的理解还没有得到充分的实证探索。我们使用组织为预测、预防和预测领域的协变量来检查保留的相关性。 LoneStar 项目是一项三波纵向再入研究，对最近从德克萨斯州囚犯释放的 802 名男性进行了分析，以检查近端、远端和任何研究保留的相关性。保持学习效果的最佳相关因素是研究人员为减少人员流失而使用的预防技术。相比之下，只有少数传统上与流失相关的协变量与保留相关，并且没有用于流失预测的协变量与保留相关。研究人员所做的事情对于保留比他们试图保留的个人特征更重要。研究结果强调了研究人员如何提高纵向研究中的研究保留率，同时纠正当前纵向数据源中的非随机损耗。