Criminal and Delinquent Behavior Exam 1

What is the Notion of Adolescence-Limited Criminology?

Adolescence-limited (AL) offending is delinquent behavior that emerges in the teenage years and usually reduces moving into adulthood. Explained by the maturity gap: teens want adult status but lack adult privileges, so some use delinquency to signal maturity. Peers then help distribute these behaviors through mimicry and reinforcement.

What are the Shortcomings of Adolescence-Limited Criminology?

-Overgeneralization of adolescence: not all teen offending is temporary or minor.

-Doesn’t fully explain persistance: it can under explain why some individuals keep offending after adolescence.

-Teens differ a lot in risk, family contexts, self-control, supervision, etc.

How do DLC Perspectives Overcome Some of its Challenges ?

• DLC explains both short-lived adolescent offending and long-term persistent offending by modeling multiple trajectories and life-stage mechanisms.

• It treats desistance as something that happens through social bonds, cognitive change, routines, and opportunity structures, not just “getting older.”

How is DLC Rooted in a Paradigm Change in Criminology that Moved Towards More Integrative Approaches?

DLC fits this paradigm change because it naturally integrates:

• micro (self-regulation, cognition, behavior)

• meso (family, peers, school)

• macro (neighborhoods, institutions, opportunity)

• across time (life stages + transitions)

Why do Integrative Approaches in General Matter?

Crime usually comes from several factors working together—the person, family rules, friends, school, neighborhood, chances to offend, and life events. Integrative theories explain how these pieces link up, instead of saying one thing alone explains everything

What is Onset?

Pertains to when crime begins

What is Duration?

Pertains to how long crime lasts

What is Incidence?

Pertains to how frequently crime is committed

What is Desistance?

Pertains to when crime stops occurring

What are the Basic Elements of DLC (their focus on different stages of life)?

DLC focuses on how risk/protection and offending change across stages, commonly emphasizing:

Childhood: Early onset risk factors (impulsivity, aggression, poor parenting/supervision, coercive family processes, weak school attachment).

Adolescence: Peer influence, status seeking, reduced supervision, heightened risk-taking, and exposure to opportunities. Delinquency can increase via peer reinforcement and weaker conventional bonds.

Adulthood: social bonds and routine activities (stable job, marriage/partnering, parenting, military, relocation, treatment). Adult roles can restructure routines, responsibilities, identity, and costs of crime → desistance or reduced offending.

What are Two Important Debates Within DLC?

Stability and Change

What is Stability?

A person’s level of offending stays fairly consistent over time compared to others

What is Change?

Lives are malleable; turning points, bonds, and cognitive shifts can redirect behavior.

What is the Predictability of Trajectories?

How early can we accurately identify who will be persistent, who will desist, and who will be adolescence-limited. But false positives (labeling kids who would desist) and life surprises (turning points) limit predictions.

What are the 5 Different Perspectives in DLC Described?

-Gottfredson and Hirschi: Self-Control Theory (General Theory of Crime)

-Moffitt: Developmental Taxonomy Theory

-Patterson et al.: Social Interactional Model

-Sampson and Laub: Life-Course Theory

-Giordano et al.: Cognitive Transformation Theory

Which Theories Position Themselves in terms of Continuity?

All 5 of them

Which Theories Position Themselves in terms of Change?

Moffit’s, Sampson and Laub, and Giordano’s Theories

Which Theories Position Themselves in terms of Continuity and Change?

Sampson and Laub’s Life-Course Theory and Giordano et al. Cognitive Transformation Theory

Which Theories Position Themselves in terms of Predictability?

Gottfredson and Hirschi, Moffit, and Patterson et al. Theories

Describe Gottfredson and Hirschi’s Self-Control Theory

One of the most prominent criminological theories of crime, states that problematic behavior is continuous during an individuals life and is related to self-control. Differences in self-control lead to differences in behavior along the whole life course.

Describe Moffitt’s Developmental Taxonomy Theory

Proposes that antisocial behavior follows two distinct paths based on onset and persistence: Life-Course-Persistent (LCP) offenders and Adolescence-Limited (AL) offenders.

Who are Life-Course Persistent Offenders?

A small group of individuals who exhibit antisocial behavior from early childhood throughout their lifespan. These offenders are often characterized by neuropsychological deficits and high-risk social environments.

Who are Adolescence-Limited Offenders?

Individuals who engage in antisocial behavior during their teenage years and desist as they mature into adulthood. Driven by a "maturity gap" between biological maturity and adult social roles, but generally stop offending once conventional adult roles are available

Describe Patterson et al. Social-Interactional Developmental Model

Early versus late starter model of the development of aggressive and antisocial behavior, distinguishes youths whose antisocial behavior begins during childhood (early-onset) versus adolescence (late-onset).

Patterson’s Early Onset Pathway:

Disfunctional families → Early Onset → Behavior problems in school → Continuity

-Ineffective parenting and coercive interactions in childhood lead to long-term antisocial behavior and delinquency

Patterson’s Late Onset Pathway:

Marginally disadvantage contexts → Late Onset → Adaptation to Adult Prosocial Behavior → Desistance

-Adolescents who begin engaging in criminal behavior during their teen years, often driven by peer influence then dysfunctional families.

Describe Sampson and Laub’s Life-Course Theory:

People offend when their social bonds to conventional society are weak. Turning points can restructure routines and identity, increasing informal social control.

Describe Giordano et al. Cognitive Transformation Theory

Desistance is tied to identity change: new “scripts,” openness to change, and a redefinition of self. Social hooks for change (relationships, jobs, religion, treatment) matter when they connect to internal cognitive shifts.

How Do These Theories Challenge Each Other’s Perspectives?

-Self-Control: Pushes back against theories that emphasize turning points or adult social bonds as central causes of change.

-Developmental Taxonomy: Argues you must separate offenders into qualitatively different developmental groups, not treat “crime” as one process.

-Social Developmental Model: Emphasizes learning and reinforcement within families and peers more than stable traits alone.

-Life-Course Theory: Pushes back against “everything is set early” views by showing adult social ties can cause real change

-Cognitive Transformation: Critiques models that treat turning points as automatic; says social change works best when internal change is happening too

Explain the overall policy implications and how DLC perspectives open up a new set of policy areas to target?

DLC expands policy from “control crime now” to “change developmental pathways,” by investing in early prevention, managing adolescent risk contexts, and strengthening adult turning points that promote desistance

Specific Challenges and Criticism of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s Self-Control Theory:

Has been criticized due to the fact that it ignores other circumstances that influence stability or change in trajectories.

Specific Challenges and Criticism of Moffitt’s Developmental Taxonomy Theory:

Real lives may not fit neatly into just two categories (more than two pathways). Some “AL” offenders don’t desist cleanly; trajectories can be messier.

Specific Challenges and Criticism of Patterson et al. Social Interactional Developmental Model:

Can be criticized for focusing heavily on family processes and not always fully incorporating larger structural factors.

Specific Challenges and Criticism of Sampson and Laub Life-Course Theory:

Some argue it can understate individual differences (temperament/self-control) that shape who can access turning points. Turning points may be partly “selection” (people who are already changing are more likely to marry/work steadily).

Specific Challenges and Criticism of Giordano et al. Cognitive Transformation Theory:

• Harder to measure cognition/identity precisely.

• Can be seen as less “structural” if not paired with attention to opportunity constraints.

How do pathways usually involve some predictable sequencing and milestones?

Many lives follow a general pattern of role transitions: Childhood (birth, school, graduation) -> Adulthood (job, marriage, children) -> Retirement

How does everyone not follow the same developmental pathway?

Although there is a typical pattern, many people experience variation and exceptions like early parenting, delayed marriage, interrupted schooling, etc. Life courses diverge across people and groups.

How might crime and criminal pathways be one part of life trajectory?

Crime is treated as one possible trajectory within a person’s broader life course. Crime pathways should be understood alongside other life domains, because events in one domain (school failure, unemployment, relationship disruption, etc.) can shape crime involvement and vice versa

What is Life-Course Theory?

a set of interconnected trajectories that a person has as they age through life. A trajectory is a sequence of linked states within a conceptually defined domain of behavior or experience

What are the elements that shape life-course theory?

Genetic makeup, social and demographic characteristics, family, friends, neighborhood, historical period, and random and unpredictable events

What are the Interrelated Domains in which trajectories are conceived?

Biological (puberty, physical development), Psychological (cognition, self-concept, emotional development), and Social (family roles, school/work roles, marriage/parenting). Emphasizes these domains interact, meaning change in one can influence the other

What are the Four Life-Course Theories?

Historical time and place, Timing in lives, Linked Lives, Human agency

What is Historical time and place?

Development is shaped by the historical period and social context you grow up in.  It matters because the same life event can have different meaning/impact depending on the era and location

Example of Historical Time and Place

Maturity Gap, the delay in accessing adult roles through work and marriages generated a gap between biological maturity and social maturity. Important historical events (wars, economic crises, etc)

What is Timing in Lives?

The age when an event happens changes its impact, events are not equally disruptive at all ages. Preventive and correctional interventions vary by age and developmental stage

Example of Timing in Lives

An arrest at 11 years old vs. 23 has very different consequences like school disruption vs. less damage after college/work opportunities.

What are Linked Lives?

Lives are interdependent, your path is tied to family and close others. It matters because other people’s transitions (job loss, incarceration, divorce) can alter your outcomes and opportunities

Example of Linked Lives:

A parent’s incarceration or a family members life events can strongly affect children’s psychological/social development and life course direction

What is Human Agency?

People make choice within constraints; they are not just carried by structure. It matters because even under similar conditions, people can choose different route

Example of Human Agency:

choosing a college major/career path changes life chances. Agency affects which trajectory you enter, even though choices are shaped by context.

What was the focus of criminal careers research?

The importance of longitudinal studies was seen early on in Criminology. The earlier focus was on understanding “career criminals”, a small proportion of the population responsible for a high proportion of crimes

What are the main dimensions that they focused on to characterize criminal careers and criminal participation?

Frequency (how often offenses occur), Onset (Age), Seriousness (severity of offense), Career length/duration, Desistance

What are the Theory and Policy Insights of Criminal Careers?

Importance of sequencing of events, and the dimensions of involvement vary across individuals

Limitations of Criminal Careers Research:

There was a narrow conceptualization of crime (street crime), if you only study street crime, you can end up with a skewed, stereotype-heavy view of who “serious offenders” are and what “serious crime” looks like.

How does DLC expand on this perspective of criminal careers and overcome some of its limitations?

DLC embeds criminal behavior in whole life trajectories, emphasizing transitions/turning points, linked lives, and domain interactions. It focuses on both continuity and change, not just counting offenses

What are Trajectories?

the long-term patterns of a behavior or life area as it unfolds over time

What are Turning Points?

Turning points (i.e., a good job). Transitions may affect trajectories and promote either continuity or change

Example of Trajectories and Transitions:

A person’s “school trajectory” includes transitions like entering high school, graduating, or dropping out—each transition can redirect later outcomes (including crime)

What is Cumulative continuity (state dependency)?

past behavior influences future behavior. Antisocial behavior tends to block prosocial opportunities

Example of Cumulative continuity (state dependency):

arrest -> labeled as troublemaker -> rejected by prosocial peers -> antisocial associations -> problem behavior

What is Self-Selection (Population Heterogeneity)?

Trait and dispositions are associated with behavior. Behavior continuity can be explained by persistence of traits

Example of Self-Selection (Population Heterogeneity):

Low self-control -> labeled as troublemaker -> rejected by prosocial peers -> antisocial associations -> problem behavior

What is Ontogenesis?

The Sequence of events involved in the development of a biological organism. It is focused purely on biological development

What is The Ontogenetic Fallacy?

Understanding the unfolding of life outcomes as exclusively related to biological traits. Interaction with the environment is important.

Example: College success and IQ

What are Cohorts?

Groups of people going through the same event at the same time (e.g., people born in a specific year or period).

When do Cohort effects occur?

when cohorts respond differently to an event (economic crisis for millennials vs boomers)

What is Social Age?

Normative time for certain events and transitions. There is an expected time to finishing school, having children, etc. Life experiences can adjust to expected timings or not

What is Historical Age

The time when some events occur. Historical age and patterns gives meaning to social age, they are interrelated concepts

Why are longitudinal designs better suited to answer the questions posed by DLC perspectives?

DLC asks questions about change, stability, timing, sequencing, and trajectories, which requires observing people across time, not at one moment

What are Two Types of Longitudinal Designs?

Prospective and Retrospective

What is the Prospective Longitudinal Design?

Follows a sample of individuals (usually a cohort) over time

Advantages and Disadvantages of Prospective Design

-Advantages: Data on events is closer to when it happened

-Disadvantages: Expensive, time consuming, difficult to implement, and takes longs to generate results

What is the Retrospective Longitudinal Design?

Older participant selected based on some criteria. Researchers collect data on individuals’ past experiences

Advantages and Disadvantages of Restrospective Design

-Advantages: Can be efficient for studying people with serious offending histories.

-Disadvantage: Difficulty recalling events, Difficult to gather information about key theoretical constructs

How does Farrington conceive DLC?

DLC is concerned with how and why offending develops over time, including risk/protective factors at different ages and how life events influence development.

What are the main issues DLC focuses on in Farringtons chapter?

Development of offending across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. As well as within individual change (why the same person changes across ages) and between-individual differences (why people differ)

How does DLC expand on the early areas of focus from criminal careers criminologists?

DLC doesn’t just describe careers, it explain why they unfold (risk factors, protective factors, life events, development). It also looks beyond offending counts to childhood development, family processes, school/peer pathways, etc. As well as integrating multiple pathways rather than focusing mostly on criminal-career pathways.

Explain at least five of the main accepted conclusions about the development of offending that DLC theories need to be able to explain:

-Prevalence of offending peaks in the late teenage years

-Peak of age onset is between 8 and 14 and peak age of desistance from offending is between 20 and 29

-Small fraction of the population commit a large proportion of offenses

-Offending is versatile

-Offending behavior is part of a broader set of antisocial behaviors

Describe different risk factors at different domains:

-Individual: Low intelligence, low school achievement, impulsiveness, antisocial behavior.

-Family: Poor supervision, harsh discipline and physical abuse, inconsistent discipline, low parental involvement, parental conflict, broken families, etc.

-Socioeconomic factors: Low family income, large family size

-Peer factors: Delinquent peers, peer rejection and low popularity

-School: High delinquency rate

-Neighborhood: High crime

What are the Key Correlates to Desistance?

Marriage, Job satisfaction, Good neighborhood, Military

( Name and Explain 3) What are the different contentious issues in DLC he describes?

-Unclear how individuals offending frequency varies with age

-There is no clear escalation or de-escalation pattern with age

-It’s not determined if early onset predicts frequency or severity and whether it signals a different developmental trajectory

-Whether chronic offenders commit more offenses or more serious offenses remains unclear

-The causal effect of risk factors is unknown

-Risk factors can be causes or indicators of same underlying construct

(Know 2) Identify the empirical issues that any DLC theory needs to address:

Why do people start offending? How are onset sequences explained? Why do people stop offending? Why does prevalence peak in the teenage years? What are the main motives and reasons for offending? What are the effects of life events on offending?

(Know 2 ) Identify the theoretical issues that any DLC theory needs to address:

What is the key construct underlying offending? What factors encourage offending? What factors inhibit offending? Is there a learning process? Is there a decision-making process? What is the structure of the theory?