Developmental & Life-Course Theories PDF

Developmental & Life-Course Theories Chapter 14 DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE & CRIMINOLOGY Life-Course Theories  Sheldon & Eleanor Glueck  Harvard University, 1920s–1960s  1950 – Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency   Life histories of 500 boys...

Developmental & Life-Course Theories Chapter 14 DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE & CRIMINOLOGY Life-Course Theories  Sheldon & Eleanor Glueck  Harvard University, 1920s–1960s  1950 – Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency   Life histories of 500 boys sent to reform school in 1930s  Data on each juvenile collected at ages 14, 25, & 32  A history of discrimination, rivalries, & obscurity  Theoretic “rivals” with the Edwin Sutherland  Life-Course Theories  Glueck & Glueck (1950) – Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency  Life histories of 500 boys sent to reform school in 1930s  Data on each juvenile collected at ages 14, 25, & 32  Rob Sampson (Harvard) & John Laub (Maryland)  Sampson “discovered several boxes” of Glueck data in Harvard Law basement  Secured a grant to digitized early life histories & collected follow‐up interviews of the men [then in their late 60s/ early 70s]  Gives birth to:  Age‐graded theory of informal social control  (Sampson & Laub, 1993; Laub & Sampson, 2003)  Understanding that desistance from crime is  “a process, not an event” LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO  Sampson & Laub’s Theory  Age-graded theory of informal social control  Draws heavily on social control theory (Hirschi, 1969)  4 Components or Elements  ↑Social bonds  ↑socially controlled behavior  ↑conformity  ↑Social bonding with parents, teachers, & peers  ↑conformity  ↑Weak/ a enuated or broken social bonds  ↑deviance/ delinquency  Informal social control explains changes in criminal behavior over the life‐course (Sampson & Laub, 2005)  Independent of prior individual differences in criminal propensity (Glueck & Glueck, 1950; Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990) LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO  Sampson & Laub’s Theory  Informal social control explains changes in criminal behavior over the life-course (Sampson & Laub, 2005)  ↑Social controls over individuals & their behavior  Turning points can produce gradual &/or abrupt changes in: 1) social controls + 2) social opportunities  3 Turning points: marriage, meaningful employment, & military service  ↓Social controls…  ↑likelihood of persistent offending  Absence of turning point changes  Disruptive family & employment experiences (e.g., a bad marriage is not the same as a good marriage)  Delinquency sets into motion a variety of impediments to successful transitions to adulthood  This cumulative disadvantage undermines potential bonds that may emerge in adulthood (i.e., good marriage & employment) LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO  Sampson & Laub’s Theory  Informal social control explains changes in criminal behavior over the life-course (Sampson & Laub, 2005)  ↑Social controls…  ↓likelihood of persistent offending  Turning points can produce gradual/ abrupt social control + opportunity change  Emphasis on the role of the family in exercising both  Relational control (via attachment) &  Instrumental control (via monitoring & supervision)  Downplays the role of peers  Mark Warr (1993; 1998; 2002) sharply disagrees LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO  Sampson & Laub’s Theory  Informal social control explains changes in criminal behavior over the life-course (Sampson & Laub, 2005)  Emphasis on the role of the family in exercising both relational control (via attachment) & instrumental control (via monitoring & supervision)  Downplays the role of peers  Warr (1993; 1998; 2002) & the particular role of peers  Life‐course transitions in family/ work account for persistence/ change  But, these transi ons mark drama c ↓ me spent with friends & ↓delinquent peer exposure  Is persistence & change a result of changes in “informal social controls” or “peer associations”? LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO Sampson & Laub’s Theory  For This Week…  For Wednesday (Dec. 4th), read:  Chapter 15 – Integrating Criminological Theory LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO