Developmental Views of Delinquency

1
Chapter 5

• Developmental Views of Delinquency

2
Life Course Theory

• Developmental theory is the view that criminality
  is a dynamic process, influenced by social
  experiences as well as individual characteristics
• Life course theory is a developmental theory that
  focuses on changes in behavior as people travel
  along the path of life and how these changes
  affect crime and delinquency.

3
Life Course Theory

• People have multiple traits social,
  psychological, economic
• People change over the life course
• Family job, peers influence behavior
• Criminal careers are a passage
• Personal and structural factors influence crime

4
Life Course Concepts

• Age of onset
• Early onset is the view that kids who begin
  engaging in antisocial behaviors at a very early
  age are the ones most at risk for a delinquency
  career.
• Adolescent limited offenders follow the most
  common delinquency trajectory, in which
  antisocial behavior peaks in adolescence and then
  diminishes.
• Life course persister offender continues
  delinquency well into adulthood.

5
Problem Behavior Syndrome

• A cluster of antisocial behaviors that may
  include
• Family dysfunction
• Substance abuse
• Smoking
• Precocious sexuality and early pregnancy
• Educational under-achievement
• Suicide attempts
• Sensation seeking
• Unemployment
• Delinquency

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Multiple Pathways

• Life course theorists recognize that delinquency
  may travel more than a single road in their
  delinquent career
• Authority conflict pathway
• Covert pathway
• Overt pathway

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Age-Graded Theory

• Turning points are critical life events, such as
  career and marriage, which may enable adult
  offenders to desist form delinquency.
• Social capital are the positive relations with
  individuals and institutions that support
  conventional behavior and inhibit deviant
  behavior.
• Finding a good job may lead to a conventional
  life
• Findings supportive attachments

8
Latent Trait Theory

• A stable trait, such as defective intelligence or
  impulsive personality, makes some people
  delinquency-prone over the life course.
• People have a master trait
• People do not change
• Early social control and proper parenting can
  reduce criminal propensity
• Change affects crime
• Unchanging personal factors such as low
  self-control are more important determinants of
  behavior

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Latent Trait Theory

• Social development model (SDM) is a developmental
  theory that attributes delinquent behavior
  patterns to childhood socialization and pro- or
  antisocial attachments over the life course.
• Interactional theory is a developmental theory
  that attributes delinquent trajectories to mutual
  reinforcement between delinquents and significant
  others over the life course.

10
General Theory of Crime (GTC)

• A developmental theory that modifies social
  control theory by integrating concepts from
  biosocial, psychological, routine activities, and
  rational choice theories
• Self-control refers to a persons ability to
  exercise restraint and control over his or her
  feelings, emotions, reactions, and behaviors.
• Impulsive is lacking in thought or deliberation
  in decision making.
• An impulsive person lacks close attention to
  details, has organizational problems, is
  distracted and forgetful.

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Supporting GTC

• Some elements of Impulsivity

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Criticism and Questions of GTC

• Circular reasoning
• Does not recognize personality disorders
• Fails to address ecological-individual
  differences
• Do not adequately address racial and gender
  differences
• People change and so does their level of
  self-control

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Evaluating Development Theory

• Developmental theory and prevention
• Programs that feature multisystemic treatment
• SMART Kids/SMART Parents
• Programs are designed to reduce specific risk
  factors in the childs school, family, community,
  and personal environment.