Criminology Developmental Theories: Life Course, Propensity, and Trajectory PDF

Preview

Summary

Life-course theory, Propensity theory/ Latent trait theory, Trajectory theory, Similarities, Differences, ...

Description

Chapter 9: Developmental Theories: Life Course, Propensity, and Trajectory Developmental Theory: Introduction - View criminality as a dynamic process influenced by social experiences as well as individual characteristics -

Seek to understand the onset, continuity, and termination of crime and criminality Focus on criminal careers - Engaging in antisocial acts early in adolescence and continuing illegal behaviors into adulthood - Pattern of persistent offending across the life course

Foundations of Developmental Theory - Research by Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck - Results of their longitudinal study integrated sociological, psychological, biological, and economic elements into a complex developmental view of crime causation - Sampson and Laub (1990s) performed statistical analysis to reexamine Gluecks’ research - Emphasized life trajectories and divergent pathways -

-

Wolfgang’s Philadelphia cohort research - Focused on criminal careers Moffitt (1993) - Developmental Taxonomy Loeber and LeBlanc (1998) - Challenged criminologists to answer questions about the evolution of criminal career - How does it begin? Why is it sustained? How does it end? Three independent yet interrelated developmental views - Life Course Theory - Focuses on changes in criminality over the life course brought about by shifts in experience and life -

-

     

events Propensity Theory - View that a stable, unchanging feature, characteristic, property, or condition-– such as defective intelligence or impulsive personality—makes some people crime prone - Latent trait: a stable feature, characteristic, property, or condition, such as defective intelligence or impulsive personality, that makes some people crime prone over the life course Trajectory Theory - View that there are multiple independent paths to a criminal career and that there are different types and classes of offenders

Life course theory

People have multiple traits: social, psychological, economic. People change over the course of their life course. Family, job, peers influence behavior.

Propensity theory/ Latent trait theory

People do not change, criminal opportunities change; maturity brings fewer opportunities.

Trajectory theory

There is more than one path to a criminal career. There are different types of offenders and offending.

Similarities

Focus on criminal careers. Criminality must be viewed as a path rather than an event. Criminal careers are enduring, begin early in adolescence, and continue into adulthood. Integration of multiple factors.

Differences

Life course: People are constantly evolving and so is their criminal behavior. Propensity: An unchanging master trait controls antisocial behavior.

People have a master trait: personality, intelligence, genetic makeup. Early social control and proper parenting can reduce criminal propensity.

Trajectory: There is more than one path to crime and more than one crime-producing trait.

-

Population Heterogeneity versus State Dependence - Population Heterogeneity - The propensity to commit crime is stable over the life course - Best predictor of future behavior is past behavior - State Dependence - The propensity to commit crime is constantly changing and developing as a person matures - Life events have a significant influence on future behavior - Past ASB influences future offending because offending disrupts prosocial bonds and informal mechanisms of social control Life Course Theories - Criminality is a Dynamic Process that Occurs Over Life Course - People form relationships and begin behaviors early in life that will determine their entire life course - Pays special attention to transitions that occur over the life course - Transitions are expected to take place in order - Disruptions in major transitions can be destructive and promote criminality - Cumulative impact of these disruptions sustains criminality from childhood into adulthood - Positive life events can help people desist from crime

-

As people mature, the factors that influence their behavior change - Family relations à school and peer relations àmarriage and economic achievement

Age of Onset - Early onset of deviance strongly predicts more frequent, varied, and sustained criminality later in life Problem Behavior Syndrome (PBS) - Antisocial behaviors that cluster together, including family dysfunction, substance abuse, smoking, precocious sexuality and early pregnancy, educational underachievement, suicide attempts, sensation seeking, and unemployment, as well as crime -

-

Crime is a social problem rather than a product of other social problems - People involved in crime often fall prey to other social problems, ranging from poverty to premature death Continuity of Crime -

-

Best predictor of future criminality is past criminality  State dependent - Criminality is sustained because of a lack of social survival skills necessary to find employment or to develop the interpersonal relationships they need to allow them to desist - As persisters reach adulthood, they report a variety of social and personal problems Life course theories integrate personal, social, socialization, cognitive, and situational factors -

Why do some offenders persist in criminal careers, whereas others desist from or alter their criminal activity as they mature? Why do some people continually escalate their criminal involvement, whereas others slow down and turn their lives around?

Age-Graded Theory - A state dependence theory that assumes that the causal association between early delinquent offending and later adult deviant behavior involves the quality of relationships encountered at different times in human development - Propensity to commit crimes is neither stable or unyielding - Turning points: life events that alter the development of a criminal career - Example: marriage -

-

Recognizes the role of social capital and its ability to create turning points, allowing some at-risk people to knife-off from a criminal career - Social capital: positive, life-sustaining relations w/ individuals and institutions Cumulative disadvantage: the tendency of prior social problems to produce future ones that accumulate and undermine success -

 

Example: school dropouts with an arrest record have less job opportunities

 Evaluating Age-Graded Theory - Support - Empirical research shows that people change over the life course, and the factors that predict criminal involvement change as an offender moves from adolescent misbehavior to adult criminality - Both men and women have a greater likelihood of arrest when divorced compared with when they were married - Critiques -

Causal order issues - Does desistance result in accumulation of social capital or does the accumulation of social capital produce desistance? - Romantic relationships between antisocial individuals may actually increase criminal behavior Social Schematic Theory -

-

A life course learning approach that proposes social schemas are the key theoretical mechanisms that account for the development of criminal behavior patterns - Schemas: cognitive frameworks that help people quickly process and short through information Criminogenic knowledge structure (CKS): the view that negative life events are connected and produce a hostile view of people and relationships, preference for immediate rewards, and a cynical view of conventional norms -

When an individual with a CKS formed by negative life events encounters a stressful situation, their past experiences compel them to respond with ASB CKS can improve when people experience positive life events or worse when experiencing some negative life event

Latent Trait/Propensity Theory - Propensity Theory - Personal traits, such as genetic makeup and intelligence operate in tandem with social variables that include -

poverty and family function (Wilson & Herrnstein, 1985) A number of people in the population have a personal attribute or propensity that control their inclination to commit criminal acts (Rowe, Osgood, & Nicewander, 1990) - This latent trait is either present at birth or established early in life and remains stable over time

The propensity t o commit crime is stable, but the opportunity to commit crime fluctuates over time Individual level factors play a significant role in shaping behavior choices - Close link between a person’s decision to choose to commit crime and biosocial factors General Theory Crime - Developmental theory that links crime to impulsivity and a lack of self-control (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990) - Self-control: a person’s ability to exercise restraint and control over their feelings, emotions, reactions and -

-

-

behavior - People with low self-control enjoy risky, exciting, thrilling behaviors with immediate gratification Impulsivity: lacking in thought or deliberation in decision making - An impulsive person lacks close attention to details, has organizational problems, and is

distracted/forgetful - Low self-control increases risk for criminal behavior as well as other risky, impulsive behaviors - Example: smoking, drinking, gambling, promiscuity Causes of impulsivity/low self-control - Inadequate child rearing practices - Parents must monitor a child’s behavior, recognize deviant behavior when it occurs, and appropriately

-

punish that behavior - Association between poor parents and lack of self-control may be both reciprocal and intergenerational Weak social bonds

- GTC also stressed the importance of the relationship between children and their school/teachers - Theorized that self-control becomes stable at around the age of 10 - Propensity to commit crimes remains stable throughout a person’s life, but also depend on criminal opportunities Evaluating General Theory of Crime - Support for the Theory -

Meta-analysis shows significant association between low self-control (LSC) and criminality - LSC is a significant predictor of a variety of crime types ranging from texting while driving to serious sex offending - LSC is significantly related to delinquent peer association - LSC is a significant predictor of career criminal

-

Criticisms and Questions - Impulsivity is only one of many personality traits correlated with crime

- The GTC doesn’t explain racial and gender differences in crime rates - People change and so does their level of self-control - Environmental patterns aren’t adequately explained - Is the ”cause” of low self-control parenting techniques or biological factors? Trajectory Theories - Basic premise is that there is more than one path to crime and more than one class of offender -

-

Different trajectories (pathways) in a criminal career - People offend at different pace, commit different kinds of crimes, and are influenced by different external forces Age and offending trajectories -

-

Although individuals can begin their criminal career at any age, those who display antisocial behaviors early in life are the most likely to continue throughout their life course - Personality and offending trajectories - Onset of offending is sometimes closely linked to psychological problems and mental illness: ES, LS, FO Chronic offenders vs Non offenders - Five classes of offenders (Piquero et al. 2013) -

-

-

Non-offenders/Abstainers (62%) - Conventional behavior makes them deviant because offending is the norm Low-rate adolescence peak offenders (19%) Very low-rate chronic offenders (11%)

-

High-rate adolescent peak offenders (5%)

- High-rate chronic offenders (3%) Pathways to Crime (Loeber) - Authority conflict pathway - Begins at an early age -

 

Stubborn behavior → defiance → authority avoidance

Covert pathway - Minor, underhanded behavior → property damage → more serious forms of criminality Overt pathway - Minor aggression → physical fighting → violence -

Each path may lead to a sustained deviant career

-

Paths can overlap

  -

Dual Taxonomy of Crime (Moffitt, 1993) - Adolescent-limited (AL) offenders - Teens who participate in minor rebellious/deviant behavior with their friends -

- May begin to mimic the ASB of more troubled teens, but begin to mature out of offending around age 18 Life-course persistent (LCP) offenders - Begin offending career at a very early age and continue to offend well into adulthood - Offend more frequently and engage in a greater variety of ASB than other offenders

-

Manifest significantly more mental health problems, including psychiatric pathologies A combination of family dysfunction and severe neurological problems predispose them to ASB

- Account for a large amount of the crimes committed Public Policy Implications of Developmental Theory - Multisystemic treatment - Designed to provide at-risk youths with personal, social, educational, and family services - Interventions are aimed at promoting academic success, social competence, and educational enhancement during the elementary years -

Most successful programs aim to strengthen children’s social-emotional competence and positive coping skills and suppressing the development of ASB - Increase protective factors and reduce risk factors in the areas of family, community, school, and the individual

-

Boys and Girls Club, School Collaborations Substance Abuse Prevention Program, Guiding Good Choices...