The analysis used data originally gathered by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and was based on personal interviews with a random sample of inmates in 215 State correctional facilities. The study excluded incarcerations for juvenile offenses and public order offenses. The analysis used the statistical techniques of survival analysis and event-history analysis. The factors considered in the multivariate analysis were sociodemographic characteristics, criminal justice history, and substance use. The multivariate analyses produced results different from those found in bivariate analyses. Notably, the effects of race and employment status present in bivariate analyses did not hold in multivariate analyses. The first incarceration occurred earlier for those who were not married, those with less than a high school education, those with juvenile probations or incarcerations, those using drugs or alcohol at the time of the current offense, and those with no military service. Event-history analyses using multivariate techniques can broaden knowledge about criminal histories by expanding consideration of timing issues. Figures, tables, appended tables, and 58 references.