Study Notes on Antisocial Behavior Taxonomy by Terrie E. Moffitt

Psychological Review 1993, Vol. 100, No. 4

Overview of Antisocial Behavior

  • Main Thesis: Presents a dual taxonomy to reconcile two facts about antisocial behavior:

    • (a) Shows continuity over age.

    • (b) Its prevalence changes dramatically with age, increasing almost 10-fold during adolescence.

  • Categories of Antisocial Behavior:

    • Life-Course-Persistent: A small group with continuous antisocial behavior throughout life stages.

    • Adolescence-Limited: A larger group engaging in antisocial behavior only during adolescence.

Theoretical Frameworks

  • Life-Course-Persistent Antisocial Behavior:

    • Theory Components: Interaction between neuropsychological problems and criminogenic environments.

    • Outcome: Cumulative issues lead to a pathological personality.

  • Adolescence-Limited Antisocial Behavior:

    • Theory Components: Normative behavior responding to a maturity gap and social mimicry of antisocial behavior.

    • Outcome: Antisocial behavior is temporary and socially influenced.

Stability and Prevalence of Antisocial Behavior

  • Stability:

    • Wide individual differences in stability; some experience temporary antisocial behavior, while a small number exhibit persistent antisocial behavior.

  • Prevalence Rates:

    • Antisocial behavior emerges early and is common in adolescence; reported rates show that participation in delinquency is a normal part of teenage life.

  • Important Statistics:

    • The steep decline in antisocial behavior from ages 17 to 30 correlates with an increase from ages 7 to 17 (Loeber et al., 1989; Wolfgang et al., 1972).

    • Arrest statistics reflect only a fraction of actual delinquent behavior; self-reports reveal higher incidence.

Taxonomical Classifications in Antisocial Behavior

  • Past classifications of antisocial behavior (e.g., by the American Psychiatric Association, 1987) lacked predictive validity and theoretical coherence.

  • New Taxonomy:

    • Distinguishes between sustainable, life-course persistent antisocial individuals and temporary, adolescence-limited antisocial behavior.

Methodological Concerns

  • Historically, research relied predominantly on official records, leading to incomplete understandings of antisocial behavior onset and prevalence.

  • Many classifications were not theoretically grounded, resulting in poor applicability to mainstream criminology.

Developmental Theories

  • Dual Taxonomy Theory: Introduces a framework distinguishing between antisocial behaviors as temporary or persistent and provides predictions for each category.

    • Predictions:

    • Temporary antisocial behavior will be linked to contextual adolescent pressures.

    • Persistent antisocial behavior's roots can be traced back to childhood neuropsychological problems.

Life-Course-Persistent Antisocial Persons

  • Characteristics:

    • Exhibits continuous antisocial behavior through varied manifestations across life stages.

  • Neuropsychological Risk Factors:

    • Childhood temperamental and behavioral problems linked to later persistent antisocial dispositions.

    • Neuropsychological deficits (e.g., in executive function and verbal abilities) contribute to persistent antisocial behaviors.

  • Consequences:

    • Risk behaviors may emerge from neuropsychological deficits leading to chronic patterns of antisocial behavior.

Adolescence-Limited Antisocial Persons

  • Characteristics:

    • Onset typically occurs during adolescence with little remote history of antisocial behavior.

    • Often displays flexible delinquent behaviors and desists as they transition into adulthood due to maturity and social changes.

  • Motivating Factors:

    • Influenced by social conditions, peer behavior, and cultural dimensions; delinquency serves as a mimicry of life-course persistent behaviors to achieve mature status.

Predictive Validity of Taxonomic Theory

  • Research Predictions:

    • The life-course persistent group's issues will persist into adulthood with predictable individual and familial characteristics.

    • Adolescence-limited individuals will exhibit motivations for crime linked to developmental and social transitions rather than intrapersonal deficits.

  • Longitudinal Studies Required:

    • Future studies should differentiate between the two groups utilizing longitudinal data for accuracy.

Overview of the Article

  • Title: Reflected Appraisals, Parental Labeling, and Delinquency: Specifying a Symbolic Interactionist Theory

  • Author: Ross L. Matsueda

  • Published in: American Journal of Sociology, May 1992, Volume 97, No. 6

  • Focus: Uses principles of George Herbert Mead and other symbolic interactionists to develop a theory explaining delinquent behavior.

  • Method: Testing the theory with a causal model encompassing reflected appraisals and delinquency.

Theoretical Framework

  • Key Concepts:

    • Reflected Appraisals: The way individuals perceive themselves based on how others view them (George Herbert Mead).

    • Self as a Reflection: The self is shaped by appraisals from significant others, determining self-concept and behavior.

    • Labeling Theory: Involves concepts such as dramatization of evil, deviance amplification, and secondary deviance.

  • Causal Model: The article posits that:

    • Parental appraisals significantly affect an individual's self-appraisal.

    • Prior delinquency affects self-concept and future delinquency through reflected appraisals.

Mechanisms of Informal Control

  • Importance of informal groups in regulating member behavior.

  • The article addresses relationships between parental socialization and self-concepts related to delinquency.

  • Previous research mainly focused on global self-esteem but yielded marginal connections to delinquent behavior.

Self-Concept and Delinquency

  • Self-Esteem as Mediator: Global self-esteem was found to have modest influences on delinquency, highlighting a need for alternative self-conceptions.

  • Interactionist Perspective:

    • Self consists of multiple dimensions, particularly the evaluation of self as delinquent versus conformist.

    • Social control involves understanding role-taking and how individuals form their self-identities through interactions with others.

Role-Taking and Delinquency

  • Definition of Role-Taking: The process where individuals project themselves into the roles of significant others to understand perspectives.

  • This process is crucial in interactions where delinquent behavior is concerned.

  • Individuals coordinate actions based on perceived responses from others (reciprocal role-taking).

Reflection and Social Control

  • Role of Social Interaction: Social order emerges through ongoing interactions, creating shared meanings that influence behavior.

  • The self is shaped through a dynamic interplay of direct interactions with others across various situations.

  • The Generalized Other: Understanding societal norms and expectations that govern behavior and social integration.

Appraisals and Delinquent Behavior

  • Looking-Glass Self Concept: Reflected appraisals shape self-identity significantly and thus influence delinquency.

  • Components of Self-Concept:

    • Actual Appraisals: How others perceive the individual.

    • Reflected Appraisals: Individual perception of others' views.

    • Self-Appraisals: How individuals view themselves independently.

Empirical Evidence

  • Research Findings: Assumptions and Results:

    • Reflected appraisals are created through selective perception of actual appraisals, affecting the self-concept.

    • Prior delinquent behavior influences perceived self as a rule violator and distressed, contributing to future delinquency.

  • Data Sources:

    • National Youth Survey (NYS): leveraged longitudinal data to study delinquent behavior.

  • Findings Suggested:

    • Young males with delinquent identities are likely to engage in delinquency, influenced extensively by their social environment.

Parental Influence and Labeling

  • Labeling Theory Implications:

    • Deviance labels are more probable for disadvantaged individuals; children identified as delinquent often internalize negative labels.

    • Parental appraisals directly affect self-concept and lead to either conformity or delinquency.

Methodological Approach

  • Study Design:

    • The study uses longitudinal data to analyze causal relationships between parental appraisals, reflected appraisals, and delinquency.

    • Measurement models focus on parental attitudes towards children, specifically identifying dimensions like sociability, success, distress, and rule violations.

Conclusion and Implications

  • The self as a construct, operationalized through social interactions, reflects an individual’s actions, including delinquent behavior.

  • The theory emphasizes the role of social structure in shaping self-concept and behavior.

  • Further research required to explore specific motivations and attitudes towards delinquency in adolescents and how they create identity in context to social appraisal.

Study Guide – Strain Theories

  • Labels in Criminology: Labels in criminology refer to the societal tags attached to individuals, often branding them as deviant based on their behavior. Negatively, labels can impede desistance from crime by reinforcing a deviant identity, leading individuals to internalize these labels and continue engaging in criminal behavior. They can also influence discretion in the criminal legal system, causing biased treatment based on perceived labels rather than actual behavior.

  • Conflict Perspectives: Conflict perspectives view criminal legal systems as instruments that serve the interests of those in power, perpetuating social inequalities. This view suggests that laws are created to protect the privileged and control marginalized groups. For example, drug laws may be enforced more strictly in lower-income neighborhoods, leading to higher incarceration rates among those populations compared to wealthier areas.

  • Life Course Perspective Key Terms: Important terms include: stability, change, critical periods, transitions, and trajectory. These highlight how individual life events and societal influences relate to criminal behavior over time.

  • Objections to Integrated Theories: Some theorists argue against integrated theories because they may oversimplify complex interactions among various factors. Instead, they prefer a focus on specific mechanisms or processes, such as developmental trajectories or environmental influences, to explain criminal behavior. An example might be a thorough examination of peer influence during adolescence without combining it with structural factors.

  • Matsueda's Reflected Appraisal: Reflected appraisal refers to individuals' perceptions of how they are viewed by others, which shape their self-identity. This connects to symbolic interactionism, where one's self-concept and subsequent behavior are influenced by interactions and feedback from significant others.

    • Model of Reflected Appraisals: The model illustrates how parental appraisals (perceptions from parents) influence self-appraisal and delinquency. Figure 1 distinguishes between the impact of consistent positive versus negative reflections on self-concept and behavior.

    • Six Findings by Matsueda: Familiarize yourself with specific examples illustrating reflected appraisals, such as how familial labels (like ‘troublemaker’) can lead to increased deviance in youth.

  • Chesney-Lind's Status Offenses: Status offenses are non-criminal acts that are only illegal due to the individual's age (e.g., truancy). This distinction can lead to higher arrest rates among girls, who might engage in behaviors deemed inappropriate for their age.

    • Punishments for Girls vs. Boys: Girls may face different disciplinary actions (e.g., stricter supervision at home, increased stigma socially) compared to boys. For instance, a girl caught skipping school might face harsher grounding than a boy would.

    • Issues in Theories Focusing on Male Behavior: Theories that solely focus on male deviance may neglect female experiences, leading to incomplete understandings of the phenomenon. This bias exists in reverse for female-focused theories, which might not consider male contexts.

    • Criminalizing Survival Strategies: The author suggests that societal actions taken to survive, especially for girls (like theft for basic needs), are viewed as criminal acts, maintaining gender control by limiting how girls engage in society. This influences girls' views on deviance, potentially leading them to reject their strategies as legitimate.

  • Moffitt’s Offender Taxonomy: Life-course persistent offenders maintain consistent antisocial behavior throughout their lives, while adolescence-limited offenders typically engage in delinquent acts only during their teenage years. Environmental factors such as social support and peer influences can play a major role in this classification.

    • Age-Crime Curve: Moffitt’s theory can be aligned with the age-crime curve which indicates a peak in criminal behavior during adolescence followed by a decline into adulthood, illustrating patterns inherent in both types of offenders.

    • Impactful Factors: Moffitt emphasizes neuropsychological deficits and environmental influences as pivotal in predicting deviant behavior, suggesting these aspects create different pathways leading to life-course persistent versus adolescence-limited offenders.