Developmental & Life-Course Theories PDF

Developmental & Life-Course Theories Chapter 14 DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE & CRIMINOLOGY  Developmental & Life-Course  Attempt to make sense of patterns of criminal behavior over time  Research demonstrates  Criminal activity peaks in adolescence, then gradual...

Developmental & Life-Course Theories Chapter 14 DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE & CRIMINOLOGY  Developmental & Life-Course  Attempt to make sense of patterns of criminal behavior over time  Research demonstrates  Criminal activity peaks in adolescence, then gradually declines in older age groups (Blumstein et al., 1986; Farrington, Piquero, & Jennings, 2013)  Some individuals show consistent level of criminal (or conforming) behavior throughout their lives  Some individuals show variability in criminality as they age (Laub & Sampson, 2003; Sampson & Laub, 1993) LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO  Developmental & Life-Course  Age-Crime Debate  Age‐crime curve – ↑ crime rate in early adolescence, peaks in mid‐to‐late teenage years, & ↓ through early adulthood (Farrington, 1986)  Emerging adults – between 18 to 25 years old (Arnet, 2000)  Critiques (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990; Hirschi & Gottfredson, 1983)  “Misapplication” of age‐crime distribution to advocate for longitudinal methods – vs. cheaper cross‐sectional (Hirschi & Gottfredson, 1983)  Age crime curve an artifact of “changes in opportunity”, not criminal propensity (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990) LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO  Developmental & Life-Course  Criminal Careers  Informed by early life‐history & longitudinal works (Shaw, 1930; Glueck & Glueck, 1950; Wolfgang, Figlio, & Sellin, 1972)  Focus on explaining if, how, & why certain factors may effect (Blumstein et al., 1986)  Onset – initiation of criminal activity  Continuity – continuation & escalation of criminal activity  Change – desistance/ termination of criminal activity  5 Dimensions  Prevalence; frequency; age of onset; age of desistance; criminal career length LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO  Criminal Careers: 5 Dimensions  Prevalence – how many people involved (at any level)?  By age 30, as high as 96% in self‐report & 40% in official conviction records (Farrington, 2002)  Frequency – number of offenses by actively involved?  Peak at age 16 in self‐report & 17–20 for official convictions, then a gradual decline (Piquero, Farrington, & Blumstein, 2003)  Age of onset – age at 1st crime committed  Ranges from age 13–19; earlier in self‐report & later in official records (Elliott, Huizinga, & Morse, 1987; Tibbetts & Piquero, 1999)  Minor crimes peak at age 13–14  More serious crime peak at age 17–19 (Farrington, 1990)  Earlier onset related to ↑frequency & longer criminal career (Farrington et al., 1998; 2013) LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO  Criminal Careers: 5 Dimensions  Prevalence – how many people involved (at any level)?  Frequency – number of offenses by actively involved?  Age of onset – age at 1st crime committed  Age of desistance – age of last crime committed  “True” desistance – just because you stop, does not mean you are done  Ranges from age 20–29 (Farrington, 1992)  Criminal career length  Criminal career length = (age of desistance) – (age of onset)  Average of 10.4 years from 1st to ‘last’ conviction (Farrington, 1992)  Average of 7.1 years with one‐time offenders included  Average of 25.6 years for all crime (Laub & Sampson, 2003)  Average of 9.2 years for violent & 13.6 years for property crime  Most desist by middle adulthood (Laub & Sampson, 2003) LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO  Developmental & Life-Course  Key Theories  Self‐control theory (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990)  Developmental pathways model (Loeber et al., 1993)  Integrated cogitative antisocial potential theory (Farrington, 2005)  Developmental [or dual] taxonomy (Moffitt, 1993)  Age‐graded theory of informal social control (Sampson & Laub, 1993; 2003)  Life‐course perspective on social learning (Giordano, 2010) LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO  For Next Week…  For Monday (Nov. 25th) :  Developmental & Life‐Course Theories (cont.)  For Wednesday & Friday (Nov. 27th & 29th):  NO Class – Thanksgiving Break LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO