CJC 201 Developmental and Life-Course Theories

What do developmental and life course theories try to explain?

Patterns of criminal behavior over time (why people start, continue, or stop offending)

What does the age crime curve show

Crime peaks in mid to late teens and declines through early adulthood

Who are emerging adults

18-25 year olds

What are some critiques of the age crime curve

Misused to argue for expensive studies, may reflect opportunity changes

What is a criminal career

The pattern of onset, continuity, and Desistance of criminal behavior over a lifetime

What is onset

The initiation of criminal activity

What is continuity

Continuation or escalation of offending

What is Desistance

Reduction or ending criminal activity

What are the five dimensions of criminal careers

Prevalence, frequency, age of onset, age of Desistance, career length

What is prevalence

How many offend

What is frequency

How often they offend

What is career length

Desistance age - onset age

What are the prevalence numbers for offending

96% self-report some offending, 40% convicted by age 30

What are the frequency peaks for self-reports versus official records (in that order)

16 versus 17-20

What is the typical age of onset

13-19 year old (earlier in self-reports)

What is the minor crime peak age

13-14 years old

What is the serious crime peak age

17-19 years old

What is the typical age of Desistance

20-29 years old

When do most people desist

By middle adulthood

What does moffitt’s developmental taxonomy propose

That AL and LCP offender groups explain the age crime curve

Who are adolescence limited (AL) offenders

Youth whose offending starts in adolescence and ends in young adulthood

What causes AL offending

The maturity gap (wants adult privileges without adult status)

How does the maturity gap lead to delinquency

AL teens see LCP teens displaying adult-like behaviors and imitate them (social mimicry)

Are AL offenders neuropsychological impaired?

No. They do not share the deficits seen in LCP youth

Why do AL offenders desist

They gain adult roles, responsibilities, and stakes in conformity - motivation for offending fades

What is Desistance by default

AL youth simply mature out of crime

Who are life course persistent (LCP) offenders

A small group with early childhood conduct problems who continue offending into adulthood

What causes LCP offending

Neuropsychological deficits linked to abnormal neural development leads to low verbal abilities, poor 3xecutive function, impulsivity

Are LCP offenders influenced heavily by peers

No. Peer influence is minimal for LCP youth

Do LCP offenders persist into adulthood

Yes. They show long term, stable antisocial behavior

What does the research say about AL vs. LCP groups?

There is strong empirical support for both categories and their subgroups

who conducted unraveling juvenile delinquency

sheldon and eleanor glueck

what did the gluecks study

life histories of 500 boys in reform school (data at ages 14, 25, 32)

who revived the glueck data

robert sampson and john laub

how did sampson and laub obtain the glueck data

laub found boxes in the harvard law basement and digitized it with a grant 

what major theory came from sampson and laubs work

age-graded theory of informal social control

key idea of desistance according to sampson and laub

desistance is a process, not an event

what theory does age-graded social control theory draw from

Hirschi’s social control theory

what do strong social bonds lead to 

more conformity, less deviance

what do weak or broken social bonds lead to

more delinqeuncy, more deviance

what does informal social control explain

changes in criminal behavioral across the life course

does their theory depend on prior criminal propensity

no. social control works independent of prior differences

what are the major turning points in adult social control

marriage, meaningful employment, military service

what happens with low social control

higher likelihood of persistent offending

what creates cumulative disadvantage

delinquency causing impediments to adult transitions (family, work)

two types of family control emphasized:

relational (attachment), and instrumental (monitoring)

how do sampson and laub treat peer influence

they downplay it

what does Warr argue about pears

changes in family/work reduce time with delinquent peers, affecting crime

key debate: what causes changes in offending

increased informal social controls vs. decreased delinquent peer exposure